Swiatek's Match Point Not Enough To Avoid Shock Loss Against Keys At Australian Open
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Iga Swiatek was stunned in the semi-finals of the 2025 Australian Open by an inspired Madison Keys.
Until the semi-final match in Melbourne, Swiatek was cruising through the draw without too many issues. She beat all of her opponents without losing a set, and not just that. She lost only 14 games on her way to the final, so on average, 2.4 games per match and 1.2 games per set.
Even the eighth-seeded Emma Navarro couldn't stop her, so another American player tried it. Madison Keys knows how it feels to play in a final of a Grand Slam, as she reached the 2017 US Open final.
Now, she wanted to add another final to her collection of big matches, but she needed to overcome a big obstacle. Bigger than the likes of Danielle Collins, Elena Rybakina, and Elena Svitolina, who she beat before.
Despite losing in four of the five matches she played against Swiatek before, Keys started this match very aggressively, even though she was helped by the Pole's serving problems.
The WTA World No. 2 committed a double fault in the opening game, and after she added an unforced error, the American player suddenly had two break points to start the match.
Keys used the second one to break in the first game of the set. But even the American player couldn't avoid being broken, and the score was tied at 1-1 after two games.
But Swiatek's serving problems continued. She started her second service game with yet another double fault, and again, she was broken to fall behind 1-2.
It seemed that the five-time Grand Slam champion overcame the initial struggles, as she started playing much better after that. Keys helped her with some errors as well, and the scoreboard showed 5-2 for the Polish player.
Winning the first set wasn't so easy, though. Despite having a set point to win 6-2, Swiatek started missing again, while Keys' level improved, and the American player leveled the score at 5-all.
But Swiatek dominated the last two games. She hit three winners, forced her opponent into errors, and won the opening set 7-5. After overcoming some difficulties, the former World No. 1 was able to win the first set, but that was not the end of her troubles.
Keys played a great second set, but it wasn't only about the American's good performance. Swiatek hit only three winners and made 10 unforced errors. On her serve, she won only 6 out of 22 points, and she didn't win any point after her second serve in the second set.
The second seed struggled massively, and Keys is too experienced not to use that to her advantage. She easily won the second set 6-1 to force a decider at the Rod Laver Arena.
With the score tied and both players showing that they can hurt each other, the start of the third set was a proper battle. Swiatek faced the first break point at 1-2, but she saved it after her Keys' forehand down the line was too long.
Swiatek then had a break point in the next game, but this time, Keys didn't miss with her inside-in forehand, hitting a clean winner to save the break point and later win the game, leading 3-2.
Leading 4-3, Swiatek had two break points, which were essentially "small match points" that she couldn't use. Swiatek won the next seven points, but she still couldn't break Keys' serve despite leading 40-0 on the American's serve.
Keys let out a big roar after holding her serve to lead 5-4 in the third set. Despite plenty of chances on both sides, the first break of the third set came after Swiatek's forehand passing shot at 5-5 to lead 6-5.
But Swiatek's break was not enough to win the match, even though she had one match point in the next game, as she later hit a double fault when facing a break point. That meant a 10-point tie-break had to decide this dramatic match.
Ultimately, Swiatek led from the first rally, and she got two points away from winning the tie-break, leading 8-7. But ultimately, Keys was the better player to win the match 5-7, 6-1, 7-6(8) and set up the final meeting with Aryna Sabalenka, who beat her good friend Paula Badosa in the first semi-final match.
