Newly crowned Australian Open Women’s Champion, Madison Keys, said she never thought that she’ll win a grand slam in her 16-years career.
This after the 19th seeded American stunned world number one Aryna Sabalenka in three sets 6-3, 2-6, 7-5 to clinch her maiden grand slam title in Melbourne.
“I’m really proud of myself.
I didn’t always believe I could get back to this point.
But to be able to do it and win, it means the world to me,” said an emotional Keys during a post-match interview.
The win makes the 29-year-old the oldest first-time grand slam winner in the Open era.
Despite an early promise to her career and winning a WTA title at just 14-years-old, Keys often struggled to reach higher levels and often felt frustrated to continue with the sports.
She however found redemption down under this year, as she became the first person to defeat the top two players at a grand slam, when she beat world number two Iga Swiatek in the semi-finals, and Sabalenka in the final.
“I finally got to the point where I was OK if it didn’t happen.
I didn’t need it to feel I had a good career or that I deserved to be talked about as a great player.
Finally letting go of that internal talk gave me the ability to go out and play some good tennis to win a grand slam,” remarked the American.
Keys is expected to jump to number seven, when the new ATP rankings are released on Monday.
