Madison Keys Advances to Australian Open Quarterfinals

MELBOURNE, Australia — No.19 seed Madison Keys of the United States secured her spot in the Australian Open quarterfinals on Monday, defeating No.6 seed Elena Rybakina of Kazakhstan in a hard-fought 6-3, 1-6, 6-3 match. The victory marks Keys’ fourth appearance in the tournament’s quarterfinals and extends her winning streak to nine matches.

Keys, a 2017 US Open finalist, overcame a second-set slump to outlast Rybakina, the 2023 Australian Open finalist, in 1 hour and 49 minutes. The win gives Keys a 3-2 edge in their head-to-head matchups. “Obviously pretty good first set, and I think I finished the third set really well,” Keys said in a post-match press conference. “There are some things that I can take and learn from the middle of the match, but overall, really happy with how I was able to finish and close out that match.”

Keys will next face No.28 seed Elina Svitolina, who rallied from a double-break deficit to defeat Veronika Kudermetova 6-4, 6-1 earlier in the day. Svitolina, a former World No.3, is into her 12th career Grand Slam quarterfinal and her first at the Australian Open since 2019. The Ukrainian has been in strong form since returning from maternity leave in 2023, reaching her fourth Slam quarterfinal since giving birth to her daughter Skai in 2022.

Keys’ victory over Rybakina was a showcase of resilience. After dominating the first set, she struggled in the second as Rybakina took control. However, Keys regained her composure in the decisive third set, breaking Rybakina at 4-3 and sealing the match with her 27th winner. “At 3-3 [in the third set], I made a pretty conscious decision to really try to take advantage of anything that I got as early as I could in the point,” Keys said. “I felt like from that moment on I really was able to just kind of dictate and run away with the last set.”

This marks Keys’ first Top 10 win at a Grand Slam since her victories over Jessica Pegula and Marketa Vondrousova at the 2023 US Open. Meanwhile, Svitolina continues to make history, becoming the first Ukrainian player in the Open Era to record 100 main-draw wins at Grand Slam events. “All the four matches that I played here, I’m really happy with my fitness,” Svitolina said. “I’m really happy with the way I’ve been handling tough physical matches that I had. Yeah, so far so good.”

The quarterfinal clash between Keys and Svitolina promises to be a thrilling encounter. Keys holds a narrow 3-2 head-to-head advantage, with their most recent meeting occurring in Adelaide in 2022, where Keys went on to win the title. Both players are in peak form, setting the stage for a high-stakes battle in Melbourne.