Madison Keys made a stunning comeback to secure a spot in the quarter-finals of the Australian Open, overcoming sixth seed Elena Rybakina in a thrilling three-set match at Margaret Court Arena. The American tennis star triumphed 6-3, 1-6, 6-3, extending her winning streak to nine matches this year.
A roller-coaster match at Margaret Court Arena
Keys, who claimed the Adelaide Open title earlier this month, had previously fallen to Rybakina in their last two encounters. However, the 19th seed came out firing in this round-of-16 match, showing remarkable resilience despite a dip in form during the second set.
After taking a dominant first set 6-3, Keys faced a setback in the second set, losing four consecutive games to drop the set 1-6. But the American bounced back in the decider, ultimately securing the victory.
Rybakina struggles with injury
Rybakina appeared to be struggling with a lower back injury that had affected her in the third round of the tournament. The Kazakh’s discomfort allowed Keys to take advantage, particularly in the rallies, where she played aggressively to neutralize Rybakina’s powerful serve.
"Her serve is such a weapon, so I knew that if I could just try to make at least some of her service games a little bit competitive, then I had a chance," Keys said after the match. "So I was basically just trying to make anything that I could get my racket on back over the net, which worked sometimes."
Decider goes down to the wire
The final set was tightly contested, with both players locked at 3-3. However, Keys raised her game when it mattered most, breaking Rybakina’s serve to pull ahead. She sealed the victory with a scorching cross-court winner on her second match point, much to the delight of the crowd.
Madison Keys will face Ukraine’s Elina Svitolina in the quarter-finals after Svitolina defeated Veronika Kudermetova 6-4, 6-1 earlier in the day. With her impressive performance, Keys will look to extend her fine form as she bids for a place in the semi-finals.