Nothing MAD, Keys slays Sabalenka in Australian Open final

Tennis can bring tears to the eyes. If you are the winner, then it’s a broad smile, tears flowing down the cheeks and celebrations. That is what one witnessed at the Rod Laver Arena on Saturday night as Madison Keys conquered Aryna Sabalenka 3-6, 6-2, 5-7 to win the women’s singles title at the Australian Open. At the other end, Belarussian Sabalenka was distraught as she smashed her poor racquet in frustration and buried her face in the sweat-soaked towel.

The emotions were intense, the tennis was gripping and what fans had thirsted for came true. A massive three-setter going the full distance. Yet, if Aryna Sabalenka thought she would have a cakewalk, she was proved wrong. Sample this, Keys, who will be 30 next month, has played the tennis of her life. She has been riding such an incredible high, it looked surreal. But then, if she was going to be intimidated by the reputation of Sabalenka, that did not happen.

Indeed, what Madison Keys has done this fortnight at the Australian Open is stuff which makes you fall in love with sports. An underdog riding on a high lasts few games, sets or a couple of matches. This time, the American showed she was going whole hog. The wins she registered this fortnight are worth more then the massive prize money she won. To devour Elena Rybakina, Elina Svitolina, Iga Swiatek and Aryna Sabalenka, she has been devastating. There is a wild fire which has been raging in Los Angeles. It has burned down households and more.

To equate destruction where humans lives are lost with wins in tennis may be an exaggeration. But what Keys has achieved is nothing short of stupendous, destroying the entire field. She has been on the WTA Tour for over 15 years, yet when you take the names of tennis greats from the USA, Madison Keys name was almost unheard of. She did make a Grand Slam final seven years back. Maybe, some would have thought this is her last fling. No, she tore the from book to shreds and even against the high intensity of Sabalenka stood like a rock to match her stroke for stroke.

It’s not easy when you are playing a massive final at the Rod Laver arena on Saturday night where there are so many cheering and jeering. Perhaps, this fortnight, Madison Keys has embraced success and stardom, something which she fought and craved for. Imagine, 15,000 raucous fans inside the arena and so many thousands around the globe watching a contest where both players went for broke. Sabalenka was aiming, not for a repeat but a 3-Peat, third title in a row at the AO.

Keys, the World No.19 became the fourth-oldest woman to win her first Grand Slam crown at the age of 29 years and 11 months plus. Right through the two hour and two minutes contest, Madison Keys kept the tempo up. Her potent serve was solid as she fired in seven aces. What caught the eye was the speed and variety as well when she was belting the serve at a maximum of 189kmph. It was faster than what Sabalenka could produce at 186kmph. Then again, Keys’s averages service speed was also at 174kmph, as she sustained it right through. To win a Grand Slam it takes seven wins. Maybe, this was destiny, maybe this was her date with a big title as she unleashed winners as well with panache.

“I’ve wanted this for so long. I’ve been in one other (Grand) Slam final. I didn’t know of I’d be able to get back here. My team believed in me when I didn’t believe in myself,” said Madison Keys later. This was a soul-stirring speech.