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Madison Keys is through to the Australian Open semi-final after a stunning victory over fellow veteran Elina Svitolina in three sets, 3-6, 6-3, 6-4. Keys has been spectacular this year with a 12-1 record so far.
The only loss she has had this year came against Clara Tauson in the quarter-final of the Auckland event. The semi-final at this year's Australian Open is her best-ever performance at this event, alongside the two other semi-finals she had in Australia in 2015 and 2022.
She's much more experienced this time around and knows what not to do. One of those things is corresponding with Frances Tiafoe, who is a good friend of Keys and a fellow American. She shared an anecdote after her win over Svitolina of how she and Tiafoe talk during events, but it's been a bit of a bad omen in the past and she's not allowing that to happen this year.
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"We have this, we have this kind of joke where in the past he wouldn't say anything, you know, pre-tournament or anything, and he would text like in the quarters or the semis, and I would lose in the next round. So we have this new rule where, like I saw him a few days ago and said, don't text me. Like I don't want to hear from you at all. Just leave me alone and we'll talk after the tournament," she said.
Keys is keen on not losing this time around but she faces a really tough matchup against Iga Swiatek who has lost just 14 games so far and won all her matches in straight sets.
Beating Swiatek feels like mission impossible for Madison Keys
To make it to the Australian Open final, Keys will have to overcome Iga Swiatek. It seems like a really tough challenge considering how Swiatek has been playing this year. The Polish player is up to nine wins so far with only one loss, but Keys has done even better with 12 wins and only one loss.
They have played a couple of times, and Swiatek has been much better, winning four of the five matches they've played, including the two most recent ones. Interestingly enough, though, the American did win the last hard court match they played, which was in Cincinnati in 2022. Neither has made the final here before, so both should be highly motivated.
