Madison Keys Madison Keys

Madison Keys revealed she has "endlessly" thought about her 2017 US Open final defeat after booking her place in Saturday's Australian Open showpiece match. (Full Coverage | More Tennis News)

Keys beat Iga Swiatek 5-7 6-1 7-6 (10-8) in the semi-finals at Melbourne Park on Thursday to seal a long-awaited second appearance in a major singles final.

Her wait of seven years and four months between her first two major finals is the longest recorded by any woman in the Open Era, surpassing Amelie Mauresmo's seven-year gap.

The American lost 6-3 6-0 to Sloane Stephens in the US Open final last time she went all the way at a slam, but she insists she is in a better place to deal with the occasion ahead of her clash with two-time defending champion Aryna Sabalenka.

She told reporters: "I've obviously thought of that match endlessly for the past eight years.

"I think during that match, I was so consumed with being nervous and the moment and the opportunity and all of that, that I never really gave myself a chance to actually play.

"I've done a lot of work trying to get rid of nerves.

"The people who play amazing in the tight moments, they either don't have nerves or they figure out how to get rid of them, instead of being able to play tennis with them.

"I think the big thing for me has just been knowing there are going to be a lot of moments where I'm uncomfortable in the match. It's going to be stressful."

8 - Madison Keys is the player with the longest gap (eight years) between their first two Women’s Singles Grand Slam finals in the Open Era - the previous record was held by Amelie Mauresmo (seven years). Wait. #AO2025 | @AustralianOpen @WTA @WTA_insider pic.twitter.com/NeNNMfCgT3

— OptaAce (@OptaAce) January 23, 2025

Keys saved match point on Swiatek's serve before fighting back to win in a deciding first-to-10 tie-break, and she later disclosed she was unaware how close she came to losing.

She said: "I had no idea what the score was. I think it was really just about trying to get the next point.

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"Especially at the end of the match, I really was just so focused on what I wanted to try to do. I think it helped me because I was just able to solely focus on that."

Earlier in the match, a raucous crowd gave the Chinese players full support as they faced a formidable Pakistan. The game started slow with both teams struggling to find space in each other's defence. However, China kept control of the ball and made more attacks than Pakistan.

SAARI Faizal of Malaysia scored two goals for his sidehawkplay, while SAARI Fitri added another, and ANUAR Akhimullah opened the scoring in the first quarter.