Before the start of the Australian Open, there were so many unknowns regarding Iga Świątek that it was difficult to expect a breakthrough. Especially since a party in Melbourne has never had good associations for Poles. The furthest she reached the semi-finals was in 2022. But the last two weeks have been a show of the Polish Tennis player.
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Świątek reached the top four of a Grand Slam tournament on hard courts for the first time since her triumph at the 2022 US Open. She did it in impressive style without losing a set, although experts pointed out that Świątek had not had to face difficult moments so far. These were expected only in the match against Madison Keys. The 14th world athlete defeated, among others, Elena Rybakina or Elina Svitolina. Previously, she triumphed in the event in Adelaide, which shows her high condition at the beginning of the season.
Nervous start. Świątek showed class at a key moment
Keys is a hard-hitting tennis player – the so-called a big-hitter – and Świątek did not face such players on her way to the semi-final in Melbourne. The difference was immediately visible. The Pole, who had not lost her serve in the previous four matches, was broken in the first game of the semi-final. Our tennis player’s service problem at the beginning of the match was obvious. She rarely scored one, and in addition, fearing an aggressive return on the second serve, she had to take as much risk as possible, which resulted in double errors. Fortunately, similar deficits were also visible in the game of Madison Keys, which meant that the game went game by game.
Świątek started to gain more and more speed. She used her intensity and speed to reach many balls. Keys was not patient and precise enough. She fell into a series of unforced errors, and after breaking to 4:2, the Pole was gaining more and more self-confidence. Her reaction to the initial problems was very good. It seemed that he would probably close the first set. At 5-2, she reached the set ball on her opponent’s serve, but Keys, pressed against the wall, started hitting winners. That’s when the plot twist happened. The 29-year-old, encouraged by maintaining her serve, followed suit. She managed to make up for the break loss at the last moment. – I was a bit afraid of it, because when Keys enters into the dynamics of such plays, she is very dangerous. He plays carefully and decisively – said Dawid Celt after the unexpected equalizer at 5:5.
However, Iga Świątek was consistent at the decisive moment. She stopped her opponent, keeping the pass, and then she broke again, which meant a 7-5 victory in the first set in 50 minutes. She was much closer to the final, where Aryna Sabalenka was already waiting. The Belarusian previously defeated Paula Badosa 6:4, 6:2.
Terrible second set. He had to be forgotten quickly
It seemed that this might clip Keys’ wings, but paradoxically she started playing even better. Flights, however, were significantly reduced by Świątek. The Polish woman may have felt dominated by her rival. She played nervously, made a lot of mistakes, and the moment was getting more and more difficult, because the American quickly broke away to 4-0. Our tennis player was able to overcome great difficulties many times, but this time the task was too difficult. After 27 minutes, Madison Keys won 6-1 and took the third set.
“Iga fell apart too radically. It happened very quickly in the second set. Lots of mistakes. Madison Keys managed to introduce uncertainty into Świątek’s game,” analyzed Dawid Celt.
In a short fragment we saw two faces of Iga Świątek. First, she consistently withstood her opponent’s strong pressure at the end of the first set, but a dozen or so minutes later she broke. The serve still left much to be desired, as it did not help throughout the match, but there were also a lot of mistakes from the end line. They were largely due to nervousness.
-The 23-year-old Polish woman traditionally went for a toilet break. However, there was still a lot of tension in her game. The third set was already a mental war, both players were aware of the importance of each game. “You have to balance it all, calm down. The key in all this is calm,” appealed Dawid Celt, commenting on the match, after another unusual mistake by Świątek.
Third set under huge pressure
What was unusual for this match in the final game was that both players kept their serves. The level of play was fluctuating. Impressive winners were interspersed with nervous shots and mistakes. After winning her game 4-3, Keys screamed loudly with joy. You could feel each ball becoming more and more important.
The American immediately wanted to take advantage of it. At 15:30, Iga Świątek started a very good offensive action, but she kicked the ball out of bounds! Keys faced two break point chances. The Pole survived, with a lot of help from her opponent, but equalized the score at 4:4. The situation quickly turned around. After two unforced errors by her opponent, the Pole took a 40-0 lead and had a great chance to break. Keys left no room for maneuver in the first two opportunities, but only Iga Świątek knows how she missed a half-court forehand in the third chance. The loud “Come on!” that the American woman shouted after maintaining the service could probably be heard even in her homeland.
Once again, more pressure was placed on Iga Świątek’s shoulders. Keys wreaked havoc with her forehand to get back to 30-15. Extreme danger for the Polish woman, but she came out of it perfectly. The tug of war continued. Now it was Świątek who pushed and she did it perfectly. The dream breakthrough finally happened! The competitor tried to surprise with a shortcut, but the 23-year-old finished in time! This meant the serve would advance to the final.
However, Madison Keys’ pressure continued. At 30:40, she defended the match ball with a strong return to the middle of the court, forcing a mistake. In a similar way, she led to a break point, during which Świątek made a double service fault. A super tie-break (up to 10 points won) decided this dramatic match.
If the third set was a war of nerves, then the additional game is a battle with nerves and demons. Stiffened tennis players flipped the ball like a hot potato. Świątek gained a slight advantage. She was leading 4:2 at the first change of ends.
The game was played point by point, but the Polish tennis player was still slightly ahead – 7:5 during the next break, but after that it was a draw. The fans in the stands were nervously biting their nails, and Iga Świątek scored a point at 8:7 “against all odds, against logic” – as the commentators said. The Pole instinctively caught the ball at the net with a volley. Keys responded with an ace and the winning pass! What emotions those were! Now the American had the match ball at 9:8 and Świątek’s serve. The second-ranking player threw another forehand. Decisive.
Madison Keys, after two hours and 38 minutes, won 5:7, 6:1, 7:6 (8) and qualified for the final of the Australian Open 2025. On Saturday, she will face Aryna Sabalenka. This will be her second career Grand Slam title match.
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