American Madison Keys beat No. 2 seeded Iga Swiatek in a thrilling 5-7, 6-1, 7-6(8) victory in the semifinals, defeating Swiatek in two hours and 38 minutes to advance to her first Australian Open final. Keys, the No. 19 seed, rallied after facing a match point against Swiatek, a five-time Grand Slam champion. Keys advanced to her second career Grand Slam final after losing the 2017 U.S. Open final to Sloane Stephens.

Keys said after the match: “Yeah, I’m in the finals. That match was just such high level and she played so well and I felt like I was just fighting to stay in it..I felt like I blacked out there at some point, and was out there running around. I’m still trying to catch up to everything that’s happening … It was so up and down and so many big points. I kind of really ran with the second and then the third was just a battle. To be able to be standing here and be in the finals is absolutely amazing and I’m so excited that I get to be here on Saturday.”

The 29-year-old Keys will face No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka on Saturday for the trophy  Sabalenka, the two-time defending champion, beat Paula Badosa 6-4, 6-2 in the semifinal for her 20th straight victory in the Australian Open. She will also hold on to the No. 1 ranking for the 15th straight week no matter what happens in her match against Keys.

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