Madison Keys has a chance for tennis immortality again — and it took everything she had to get there.
The 29-year-old American stunned No. 2 seed Iga Swiatek at the Australian Open with a dizzying display of power and shot-making to advance to the Grand Slam final, taking the thrilling third set in a tiebreaker.
Swiatek, who had dominated her way through the draw, took the first set, 7-5, before Keys came back to win the second, 6-1.
The third set was a scintillating back-and-forth battle, which stayed on serve — despite multiple break opportunities for both players — until 5-5.
Swiatek finally broke through on Keys’ serve but was unable to close the match on her own racket, failing to convert a match point and then double serving on break point.
Keys trailed most of the third set breaker before finally taking the final four points to push past her Polish rival and into her first Grand Slam final since the 2017 U.S. Open.
It won’t get any easier from here for Keys.
She will face No. 1 seed Aryna Sabalenka in the finals Saturday — going from the all-court challenge Swiatek presents to the brute power Sabalenka uses to bully opponents.
Sabalenka will be looking to take her second straight Grand Slam after beating another American, Jessica Pegula, in the finals of the U.S. Open in September.