This time, though, the 19th-seeded Keys played brave and accurate tennis when she needed it most, powering to a 6-3, 2-6, 7-5 victory for her first major title and denying Sabalenka her third straight Australian Open.
For Keys, it was a complete 180 from her first Grand Slam final experience at the 2017 US Open when her game never really showed up and lost quickly to her friend Sloane Stephens. This time, Keys took charge early, played through some difficulties in the middle of the match and then held firm in the third with one clutch shot after another before finally breaking Sabalenka’s serve to claim the trophy.
‘I have wanted this for so long, and I have been in one other Grand Slam final and it didn’t go my way. I didn’t know if I would ever get back in this position and my team believed in me every step of the way,’ Keys said through tears as she lifted the trophy. ‘They believed in me when I didn’t believe in myself. Last year was so tough with some really bad injuries and I didn’t know if I’d be able to do it again but to be here and have this trophy, I love you all so much. I’m so appreciative to every person who helped me to continue to believe in myself and push me to achieve this dream.’
What happened
Keys got off to as strong of a start as she could ever hope for, striping returns that unsettled Sabalenka, finding corners with the forehand and striking the ball purely down the line with her backhand. She also made 86 percent of her first serves, taking a lot of pressure off the rest of her game. It added up to a 5-1 lead for Keys, but by the end of the first set a few more ground strokes started to miss and Sabalenka looked a bit more comfortable in the rallies.
The momentum carried over to the second, where Sabalenka raised her level and Keys couldn’t find the same shotmaking consistency that lifted her to the early lead. Sabalenka grabbed the early break, and it became clear this was going the distance.
In the third set, both players held serve all the way to 5-5.
The key moment of the match came in the middle of that game, with Keys down 15-30. First, Keys executed a perfect serve down the T that surprised Sabalenka and didn’t come back over the net. Then, at 30-all, Sabalenka destroyed a second serve, rocketing it right back at Keys’ feet deep on the baseline. But somehow, Keys got in position to redirect the ball across her body, using Sabalenka’s pace to hit a clean winner on the far sideline.
That clutch hold put the pressure on Sabalenka to send the match to a tiebreak. But instead, a couple nervous errors by Sabalenka gave Keys a pair of match points.
On her second one, Keys hit a great return that kicked the baseline to take control of the rally, then decided to shorten the angle on a forehand from the middle of the court and go for the win. Sabalenka didn’t see it coming, and Keys put her hands over her head in a somewhat muted celebration as she realized she won her first Grand Slam title.
What it means
For Keys, especially at this stage of her career, this is both a surprise and a run that almost can’t be equaled. This was not an easy tournament for her: Keys had to beat No. 2 Iga Swiatek in the semifinals, Elina Svitolina in the quarterfinals, No. 6 Elena Rybakina in the round of 16 and former Australian finalist Danielle Collins in the third round.
A lot of people thought that Keys’ best chances to ever win a major might have passed her by. One of those chances came two years ago in the US Open semifinals against Sabalenka, where she led 6-0, 5-3 and couldn’t close the deal.
‘I’m glad I got you back,’ Keys joked during the trophy ceremony.
Though Keys didn’t necessarily need a major to validate a career that kept her in the world’s top-20 for a long time, give her credit for making some technical and equipment changes this past offseason that were designed to give her a chance to compete at this level for however many more years she wanted to play.
The most significant of those changes were prompted by her husband and coach, former top-100 player Bjorn Fratangelo, who suggested that she change from the Wilson racket she had used for her entire career to a lighter Yonex frame with polyester strings instead of the softer gut.
Keys, who has always been one of if not the most powerful player on the women’s tour, said she has felt more control with her new setup while the lighter frame has made it easier for her to absorb the pace of a player like Sabalenka.