Melbourne, Jan 24 : Madison Keys staged an impressive comeback to defeat Ukraine’s Elina Svitolina 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 on Wednesday, booking her spot in the Australian Open semi-finals for the third time in her career, a decade after her first.
The American 19th seed, who will turn 30 next month, will face either Iga Swiatek or Emma Navarro for a place in the final. Keys continued her stellar start to the season, extending her unbeaten run to 10 matches after lifting the Adelaide title earlier this month.
“I felt like I kind of just had to start playing a little bit more aggressive and try to get to the net a little bit quicker,” Keys said. “She was, you know, controlling a lot of the points and making me run. So I felt like I needed to try to get the advantage a little bit quicker. And luckily, I was able to do that.”
Svitolina took the early advantage, breaking Keys in the eighth game of the first set and sealing it 6-3 in 33 minutes with an ace out wide and a netted return from her opponent. Keys, who appeared defensive in the opening set, ramped up her pace in the second. She broke Svitolina at 3-2 with a forehand winner and served out the set after 76 minutes to level the match.
With the match finely poised, Keys broke again at 2-2 in the final set with a backhand return winner and maintained her momentum to close out the contest in 1 hour and 53 minutes.
Keys leads the WTA Tour with 12 wins this season and is set to re-enter the top 10 in the rankings.
The match saw Keys recover from multiple break points early on, including a crucial moment in the first set when Svitolina saved three chances with a “lightning reflex volley at the net.” The American displayed resilience, finding her rhythm and dominating key moments in the later stages.
Svitolina, who had capitalized on early opportunities to dictate play, struggled to maintain her edge as Keys took control.
Keys, who has previously beaten top players like Jessica Pegula, Elena Rybakina, and Danielle Collins this season, continues her bid for a maiden Grand Slam title at Melbourne Park.
