Australian Open final, that must feel good?” wonders the opening question; “Yeah,” comes back the response, Keys corpsing at the understatement. “I’m still trying to catch upto everything that’s happening … yeah!”she volunteers.
“Yeah” indeed, sometimes saying little says loads, and what a feeling this must be – one she feared she’d never again experience but one she felt she had the talent to again experience.
“I’m in the finals, woo hoo!” she goes again. “That match was just so high-level and she played so well,” she continues, talking about the intensity of the battle.
Even though she lost the first set, she felt she was playing better towards the end of it so took momentum into the second, ran with it, and then in the third, it was just so tight; “Did she have a match point?”
Told there was one, she explains that she blacked out, just doing what she could “then 10-point tiebreak for an extra dramatic finish!” Oh man, this is what it’s all about; this kind of joy, adrenaline and release, beautifully communicated; this is why we love her!
Keys continues, saying they were both nervous at the end and it became about who’d get one more point than the other; “I’m glad it was me!”
Then, on the final, she says she’s expecting some big hitting, short points, and she’s excited for the challenge of meeting Sabalenka, “but Saturday is very far away in my brain right now!”
Finally, asked for today’s plan – it’s past midnight – she says she’ll probably go and hug her team, run around and satisfy her obligations, try and enjoy the moment, then get ready for “Saturday … tomorrow”.
Aryna Sabalenka, winning an immediate classic in the process! What a moment! What a change-around! What a match!
Aryna Sabalenka, but here we are, and Swiatek nets yet another backhand for 0-15, then sends one long for 0-30; pressure increases for both players. Is this Keys’ moment? How can she calm herself to attack it? Well, her first effort goes long, but stretching to force her opponent to play one more ball, flipping high from the corner, Swiatek hammers the overhead putaway wide! You could almost see her sweating under that, and though she then saves the first break point, she must face the second with a second serve … and Keys, well in the point, nets a forehand! That’s an error she might take to her grave – a lot to process in the moment – and two further swipes into the net extinguish the opportunity. Swiatek will be wanting to make her play as many balls as possible next game, while she’s still smarting.Iga Swiatek (2).
