Madison Keys' husband Bjorn gets real about what he does to help his wife overcome her nervousness in tough matches

Madison Keys' husband and coach Bjorn Fratangelo has said that his on-court presence has helped Keys focus on her tennis, and blot out any extraneous distractions. Keys' Australian Open semifinal victory over second-seeded Iga Swiatek saw the American reach only her second Grand Slam final in her 15-year career.

Barring the second set, which Keys raced through and won 6-1, Swiatek had appeared a step ahead of her lower-ranked opponent, with Keys playing catch-up in the third set, and falling behind in the 10-point tie-break that decided the match, before she reeled off the last two points to win the match 5-7, 6-1, 7-6 (8).

Fratangelo has the task of preparing his player for perhaps the toughest job in tennis right now - unseating the WTA World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka from her Australian Open perch, a tournament in which she's seeking her third win in a row. Keys will face the Belarusian in Saturday's final, and her coach talked up his role in her success thus far.

"Something that I bring to the table is I have a very good eye for what's going on inside the match at all given moments, and I'm able to kind of adjust the game plan on the fly. I think I've been able to bring that to her game, where I can see things a little bit quicker than she can. When she does come over [to the coaching box], I can give her a gentle nudge of what's happening," he said via WTA.

There were moments during the Iga Swiatek match when Madison Keys appeared to be looking to her coach on the sidelines for inspiration. After the match, she described the third set as a "real battle", in which she saved a Swiatek match point, and twice went down a break.

Keys' resilience in the clutch moments was remarkable, and Fratalengo believed his being close at hand was able to help her re-focus.

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Bjorn Fratangelo will now concentrate his energy on devising a game plan for Madison Keys to overcome Aryna Sabalenka

Madison Keys - Hologic WTA Tour - Day 4 - Source: Getty

Bjorn Fratangelo was effusive in his praise of Aryna Sabalenka and acknowledged her current superiority. However, he doesn't feel that Madison Keys is very far behind and that they are actually similar players.

"I think she's No. 1 in the world for a reason. Maybe Aryna is a little more of the polished version of Madison. Similar in size, similar game style. Aryna I think just does things a little bit better over the course of a 52-week calendar year."

Sabalenka currently holds a 4 to 1 head-to-head advantage over Keys. More importantly, she's 3-0 on hard courts. Fratangelo will have his work cut out to devise a plan that can derail the Sabalenka juggernaut.