American Madison Keys won the Australian Open women's tennis championship. Keys defeated Belarus' Aryna Sabalenka 6-3, 2-6, 7-5 in the final match of the tournament and lifted her first Grand Slam title.
The 19th-seeded Keys needed two hours and 4 minutes to achieve historic success. The American had only one previous final at a similar level, reaching the US Open title match in 2017.
Madison Keys started with a break at 30, and then reached another one for 4-1 in her favor. Sabalenka found strength and saved another break opportunity, and then took her opponent's serve and reached 3-5. However, Keys again managed to break Aryna's serve and reached 6:3 in her favor.
The second set was different. Sabalenka imposed her high tempo and quickly made two breaks, which gave her a 5:1 lead. The Belarusian tennis player managed to close the set with 6:2.
The decisive third set was very contested. Both players were categorical in their serves and neither of them had a chance to break. The situation changed only at 6:5 in favor of Keys. The American had two opportunities to break and succeeded in the second, thus dethroning the two-time champion in Melbourne – Sabalenka.
The Belarusian player missed out on joining the legends of the sport - Daphne Akhurst (Australia), Nancy Bolton (Australia), Margaret Smith (Australia), Yvonne Goolagong (Australia), Monica Seles (Yugoslavia), Steffi Graf (Germany) and Martina Hingis (Switzerland), who have lifted the trophy in Australia more than twice in a row.
Germany's Alexander Zverev and Italy's Yannick Sinner will play in the men's final on Sunday.