Ben Shelton, Taylor Townsend & tennis world react to Madison Keys reaching Australian Open semifinal

Just hours after securing his place in the Australian Open semifinals, American Ben Shelton took to social media to congratulate countrywoman Madison Keys. Keys reached the semifinals of the women's tournament after a 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 victory over Elina Svitolina. US player Taylor Townsend weighed in too.

Keys staged a spectacular comeback after losing the first set against Svitolina, the 12th seed brushing off her 15 unforced errors to rally in the second and then comfortably win the third. She took to her Instagram page to post:

"Final 4 tomorrow"

It prompted an immediate response from Shelton.

"Ur a dawg," Ben Shelton commented.

Screengrab of Ben Shelton's and other comments on Madison Keys Instagram (post) (@madisonkeys)

Townsend's reaction followed:

"HELL YEAH!!"

In her post-match interview Keys was quick to acknowledge the team spirit that is evident among American players on the tour, saying:

"It's a great group of Americans, and I love being able to travel with friends who are experiencing this circus alongside me."

Shelton progressed after an impressive four-set defeat of Lorenzo Sonego 6-4, 7-5, 4-6, 7-6(4), taking him to only his second Grand Slam semifinal. His last appearance was when he lost to eventual champion Novak Djokovic at the 2023 US Open.

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Both Ben Shelton and Madison Keys will have difficult matches in the semifinals

Madison Keys will play No. 2 seed Iga Swiatek, who breezed by WTA World-ranked No. 8 Emma Navarro in the other women’s quarterfinal Wednesday to spoil a chance to bury any hope of an all-American semifinal.

Swiatek's progress through the tournament has been serene. She broke Navarro on the American's first service game and thoroughly dominated the match 6-1, 6-2. That followed a demolition of US Open titleholder Emma Raducano, who was swept away similarly. Swiatek holds a 4-1 lead over 29-year-old Keys in their head-to-head encounters, though they are 1-1 on a hard court.

Ben Shelton has the most difficult task of all - to stop the momentum of World No. 1 Jannik Sinner, who destroyed Alex De Minaur in straight sets in the last quarterfinal. Sinner's performance suggested that the Italian's health issues, painfully evident in his previous round match with Holger Rune, are behind him.

Shelton, the No. 21 seed, has progressed after meeting only one seeded player, beating 16-seed Lorenzo Musetti in the third round. After his defeat of Lorenzo Sonego, Shelton told the crowd in his post-match interview that he'd welcome the opportunity to match up with the World No. 1:

“If it’s the No. 1 in the world, I’m looking forward to it. I know I got a few in the crowd who are going to be pulling for me, too.”

Both Keys and Shelton will go into their respective matches as underdogs. They'll need that American team spirit to overcome the odds and progress to the finals. Keys is the only one of the two to appear in a final before, following her 2017 loss to Sloane Stephens in the 2017 US Open.