Madison Keys' husband Bjorn makes bold Aryna Sabalenka comparison to Serena Williams, Federer, Nadal and Djokovic ahead of Australian Open final

Madison Keys' husband and coach, Bjorn Fratangelo, recently likened Aryna Sabalenka to Serena Williams, Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic. Fratangelo's comparison came ahead of Keys' upcoming clash against Sabalenka in the 2025 Australian Open women's singles final.

Fratangelo interacted with reporters in Melbourne after Madison Keys' emotional semifinal win over World No. 2 Iga Swiatek. When asked to talk about his wife's opponent in the final, Fratangelo said there are similarities between Keys and Sabalenka in terms of their general style of play. However, he stated that the Belarusian is more consistent.

"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. What I've seen from her now is just what the greats do is they have the ability to raise the level when it matters most," Fratangelo said.

The 31-year-old former ATP player cited the example of Aryna Sabalenka's quarterfinal win over Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova.

Sabalenka wasn't at her best on the day, and at one point, things were all square between the pair. However, the WTA No. 1 ultimately prevailed. According to Fratangelo, this quality is consistent with that of greats like Serena Williams, Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic.

"For instance, in that Pavlyuchenkova match, I was watching that at night in the room in the hotel, and there just wasn't a doubt in my mind that she wasn't going to win that match. That's kind of how you feel with Novak when he plays most matches, Serena when she played most matches, Roger, Rafa, you know. I think she has that now," Madison Keys' husband added.

On paper, Sabalenka is the overwhelming favorite to reign supreme at the Australian Open for the third straight year, as she has lost to Keys only once in five WTA Tour-level meetings.

Madison Keys' sole victory over Aryna Sabalenka came in 2021; pair's two Grand Slam meetings ended in Belarusian's favor

Madison Keys (left) and Aryna Sabalenka (right) at the 2024 China Open (Source: Getty)

Madison Keys and Aryna Sabalenka's five WTA Tour-level clashes so far have seen the Belarusian assert her superiority on four occasions. The only exception was at the 2021 Berlin Tennis Open, when the American registered a hard-fought three-set win over Sabalenka in the Round of 16.

The pair have met twice on the Grand Slam stage, with their first Major showdown coming in the quarterfinals of the 2023 Wimbledon Championships. Here, Sabalenka comprehensively defeated Keys 6-2, 6-4.

Later in 2023, they faced each other again at a Grand Slam. This time, it was in the semifinals of the US Open. However, on this occasion, Keys gave Sabalenka a much tougher time. The American, despite winning the first set 6-0, ultimately lost as the Belarusian won the second and third sets after emerging victorious in their respective tiebreaks.

Keys was recently asked about her 2023 US Open semifinal loss to Sabalenka, but the American issued a curt response.