Madison Keys was on the ropes, but rallied on Wednesday to keep hope alive for an All-American semifinal at the Australian Open.
No. 28 Elina Svitolina struck first against the 12th-seeded Keys, but Keys secured a 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 win in the first quarterfinal match of the day at Rod Laver Arena. Keys’ win follows the quarterfinal exit of third-seeded American Coco Gauff, who was upset by Spanish No. 11 seed Paula Badosa on Tuesday.
Up next for the U.S. is No. 8 seed Emma Navarro, who faces a tall task later Wednesday in a quarterfinal match with No. 2 seed and five-time Grand Slam champion Iga Swiatek. The winner of that match will take on Keys in the semifinals.
Keys rallies, settles in after unforced errors
Keys and Svitolina played even early, as each player held serve en route to a 4-3 lead for Svitolina. But unforced errors ultimately caught up to Keys as Svitolina scored the first break of the match to take a 5-3 lead. Svitolina then served for the set and held for a 6-3 win.
Keys committed 15 unforced errors in the opening set, to just four for Svitolina. But Keys regained her composure in the second set to even up the match.
Keys first faced a chance to seize control in the second set with three break points in the fourth game of the set. But Svitolina battled to win the game and thwart Keys’ best effort until that point to turn the match in her favor.
But Keys capitalized on Svitolina’s next serve. She had two break points and sent a forehand down the right line that Svitolina couldn’t reach in time to score her first break of the match and take a 4-2 second-set lead. She held serve from there for a 6-3 win to send the match to a decisive third set.
There, Keys struck first with a break of Svitolina to take a 3-2 lead. Svitolina didn’t return the break, and Keys held on to secure the match on serve.
Keys, 29, advances to the semifinals in search of her first Grand Slam title and her second finals appearance following a 2017 loss to Sloane Stephens in the 2017 US Open finals. This is the third time she’s advanced past the quarterfinals in Melbourne.
