Australian Open: Madison Keys finds the semi-finals by beating Barbora Krejcikova

Madison Keys, 51st in the world, qualified for the Australian Open semi-finals on Tuesday by beating Czech Barbora Krejcikova (4th) 6-3, 6-2 in sweltering heat. “I think I’m going to cry…“, were the first words of the 26-year-old American who had already reached the last four of the Australian Major in 2015.

This year, she will face Thursday for a place in the final her compatriot Jessica Pegula (21st) or the world N.1 Ashleigh Barty. “Last year was so complicated. I did everything in the offseason to start from scratch without thinking about last year. So far, it’s working!”, she welcomed. If she is currently out of the Top 50 (she was even 87th on January 10), Keys had reached 7th in the world (in 2016) and played a final at the US Open (2017). Last year, she only started her season in March and won only one match, at Indian Wells in October, after her elimination in the round of 16 at Wimbledon in July.

In Melbourne, she had been in a downward spiral since her quarter in 2018: she had been eliminated in the 8th round in 2019, in the third round in 2020 and had not made the trip last year. She has not played in a Grand Slam quarter-final since Roland-Garros 2019. Against Krejcíková, the playing conditions were made extremely difficult by the heat: 30°C in the air but much more on the court since the the organization’s alert level rose to 3.8 when, at 5, matches are suspended.

“I train in the summer in Orlando (Florida) which is in my opinion the place in the world where it is hottest in the summer“, underlined Keys to explain how she had done to resist the heat better than her opponent. Because the Czech, 26 years old and winner of the last Roland-Garros, was well stunned by the heat. Led 5-2 in the first round, she summoned the doctor to the court who took her blood pressure, gave her a pill, and resumed play but could not prevent the American from finishing the round.

The second set quickly seemed one-sided: Keys broke away 3-0 as Krejcikova suffered on her way to the cross. The efforts became so grueling that the players took all the risks and put what little strength they had left into each of their shots, hoping to shorten the exchanges, including, in the case of Krejcikova, on the second balls of service. But the more time progressed, the more the Czech’s movement capacities diminished. Those of Keys too, but a little less. The match became a succession of winning points and unforced errors without any real exchange or tactical plan. But Krejcikova no longer had the resources to turn things around.