Madison Keys served better, Madison Keys hit harder and more confidently, Madison Keys scored more points in the entire match (111:100), Madison Keys unexpectedly but deservedly defeated Iga Świątek in the Australian Open semi-finals. These are the facts.
This match was difficult to watch when the American defeated the Pole in the second set. Throughout the tournament, Iga was the one winning sets 6-0 and 6-1, until suddenly she felt what it was like to have nothing to say. Keys won the second game 6-1 in 27 minutes. She did absolutely everything, she reacted brilliantly after losing the first set 5:7. But then Świątek showed a fantastic reaction. Keys is an experienced, 30-year-old player who has had a great start to the year and will soon return to the world top 10 (she is currently in 14th place). The American undoubtedly played one of the matches of her life, and the Polish woman did not break.
Świątek couldn’t stand her nerves. But she was able to react
Generally speaking, Iga’s serve was let down in this match (she made seven double faults and was broken eight times), and her nerves failed her many times (she made as many as 40 unforced errors with only 22 finishing strokes – the American’s score was 36:41). Świątek was too impatient. It happened that she tried to respond to her opponent’s strength with even greater strength, which made her lose control of her shots. But this time we didn’t see the scenario we already know well. Iga got into serious trouble and tried to find a way out of it, not by banging her head against the wall, as she had done in the past, but by trying to do it by working hard in defense. Thanks to downright suffering in defensive play. When she played the ball crouching or almost kneeling on one knee, Dawid Celt, commenting on the match in Eurosport, said that Iga was doing it just like Agnieszka Radwańska used to do. A Celt knows his wife best. Also from the court, because he was her sparring partner for years.
Świątek’s playing like this was already proof of progress. And this playing almost led to great success. At 7:5, 1:6, 6:5 and 40:30, Świątek had the match. At your service. She didn’t take advantage of it, Keys managed to lead to a tie-break and the American won the match.
Świątek won even more than Sabalenka. But it’s the Grand Slam titles that count
If Świątek had won, we would certainly have seen an even greater outburst of joy from her staff than the one we saw after the first set. At that time, Daria Abramowicz was the happiest. The psychologist, who knew Świątek very well, knew how important it was that Iga withstood the game in which she lost her 5:2 lead.
It’s a real pity that Iga missed out on winning this semi-final. It really was a close call, even though – let’s emphasize again – Keys played great and was better in the end.
-Winning such a match, in such conditions, i.e. on a fast, hard court on which the opponent feels best, would be hard proof of Iga’s growing capabilities. Those who only look at Grand Slam tournaments can spread the false narrative that Iga is only great on clay courts. Meanwhile, the truth is that no one in recent years has won as many matches on hard courts as the Pole (161 matches since 2020). Nobody, not even Aryna Sabalenka (154 wins since 2020). But of course, the two Australian Open and one US Open championships won by the Belarusian must put her above the Pole. Slams are the most important thing.
The final between Świątek and Sabalenka would be very interesting. Sabalenka, the defending champion, would remain the favorite. But it would be a match not only for the title, but also for the lead in the world ranking. And approaching such a match, Świątek would already have won a Grand Slam title on hard courts at the US Open and a Grand Slam final on hard courts at the Australian Open. That would be “pretty good” for someone who is said to be not a specialist in doing big things “hard”.
After losing the semi-final to Keys, Iga remains considered a genius, but only on Paris soil, where she has already won four Grand Slam titles. In fact, she has nothing to be ashamed of on hard courts (think about winning the US Open and two semi-finals of the Australian Open), but she can certainly do better. You just have to keep working.
Świątek played the second Australian Open semi-final in her career much better than the first (in 2022 she lost to Danielle Collins 4:6, 1:6). It’s hard to be happy about something like that today. But after some time, it will probably be quite a good base for further building on this hard terrain, where Iga will be able to achieve similar historic things as on his favorite clay.
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