by Madison Keys was on the ropes, but rallied Wednesday to advance to the semifinals of the Australian Open.
No. 28 Elina Svitolina knocked off the 12th-seeded Keys first, but Keys cruised to a 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 victory in the first finals match of the day at Rod Laver Arena . Keys’ victory followed the quarterfinal exit of third seed Coco Gauff, who was upset by Spanish top seed Paula Badosa.
Next for Keys is No. 2 seed Iga Swiatek, who cruised past No. 8 seed Emma Navarro in the other women’s quarterfinal Wednesday to squander a chance at a U.S. semifinal. Swiatek broke Navarro on the match’s opening serve, setting the tone for a dominant 6-1, 6-2 victory.
Keys Rallies, installs after unforced errors
Keys and Svitolina played even earlier, as each player held en route to a 4-3 lead for Svitolina. But unforced errors finally caught up with the keys as Svitolina scored the first break of the match to take a 5-3 lead. Svitolina then served for the set and held on for a 6-3 victory.
Keys made 15 unforced errors in the opening set, compared to just four for Svitolina. But Keys regained his composure in the second set to even increase the match.
Keys first faced a chance to take control in the second set with three break points in the fourth game of the set. But Svitolina fought back to win the match and thwarted Keys’ best effort up to that point to turn the match in her favor.
But Keys capitalized on Svitolina’s next serve. She had two break points and sent a forehand down the right line that Svitolina couldn’t reach in time to score her first break of the match and take a 4-2 lead in the second set. She held serve from there for a 6-3 victory to send the match to a deciding third set.
There, Keys struck first with a break of Svitolina to take a 3-2 lead. Svitolina did not return the break and the keys held to secure the match on serve.
Keys, 29, advances to the semifinals seeking her first Grand Slam title and second finals appearance following a 2017 loss to Sloane Stephens in the 2017 U.S. Finals. It is the third time that she progressed beyond the Melbourne quarter-finals.
