MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — Madison Keys has taken the first set 6-3 against two-time defending champion Aryna Sabalenka in the Australian Open women’s final.
Keys broke Sabalenka's serve in the opening game Saturday and, after missing a set point in the seventh game and dropping serve herself in the eighth, converted another break to take the set in 35 minutes.
Top-ranked Sabalenka is hoping to do something no woman has in more than a quarter of a century: win a third consecutive singles champion at Melbourne Park.
Keys hopes to do something she never has: win a Grand Slam trophy.
Sabalenka is a 26-year-old from Belarus, and Keys is a 29-year-old from the United States.
For Sabalenka, this is a chance to add to the titles she won on the hard courts of the Australian Open in 2023 and 2024, plus the one she claimed at the U.S. Open last September.
She is 11-0 in 2025.
For Keys, this is her second appearance in a Grand Slam final, after finishing as the runner-up at the 2017 U.S. Open.
She is seeded No. 19 and is on an 11-match winning streak, including an upset of No. 2 Iga Swiatek in the semifinals on Thursday.
The Australian Open men's final is Sunday, with defending champion Jannik Sinner against Alexander Zverev. Sinner is seeded No. 1, Zverev No. 2.
Sinner eliminated American Ben Shelton in the semifinals, while Zverev advanced when 10-time Australian Open winner Novak Djokovic stopped playing because of an injury.
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AP tennis: https://apnews.com/hub/tennis
