3 Keys to Victory

Match Breakdown

3 Keys to Victory 🔑

You know the “today’s my birthday, but I’m gonna celebrate for the entire month” feeling? That’s the way I feel about Madison Keys’ Australian Open victory.

So let’s relive her thrilling win over World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka, and learn three things she did exceptionally well to lift her first major trophy.

#1: The Backhand Down-the-Line (DTL) ⬇️

Keys hit this shot early and often in rallies. It was a deliberate part of her game plan, and was effective for three reasons:

1. It got Sabalenka on the run

2. If Keys hit it deep, then Sabalenka had to hit a defensive, slower shot back

3. It didn’t allow Sabalenka to go DTL first

In the last scenario, Keys is on the run and has to play defense (not her strength).

Her backhand DTL was $$$ all evening. She used it to break in the very first game, sealed the first set with a winner, and hit another one in the final game.

#2: Beating Fire with Fire 💥

In the vast majority of her matches, Sabalenka is the one playing offense. She stands close to the baseline, hits the fuzz off the ball, and runs her opponents ragged. Simply put, she hits harder than every other player on tour.

Except Madison Keys.

The American is perhaps the only player on the WTA that can match the Belarusian’s power. Using her booming serve and penetrating groundstrokes, Keys forced Sabalenka to:

1. Finish her forehand swing behind her head often

2. Play far behind the baseline

Both of which resulted in Sabalenka hitting the ball higher, slower, and safer than normal to minimize making errors.

That shift in dynamic was crucial—rather than dictating play as usual, Sabalenka found herself reacting to Keys’ pace and depth. With less time to set up and unleash her trademark aggression, the World No. 1 was neutralized, allowing Keys to control rallies.

#3: Coming in Clutch 🥶

Last but not least, Keys was unbelievably clutch when it mattered most.

At 5-5 in the deciding set, she was down 15-30 on her serve. Getting broken would have been devastating, since Sabalenka would have served for the title. But Keys shut down that idea faster than Steffi Graf can say “maybe” to a marriage proposal. The next three points went like this:

🆓 15-30 Gets a huge, free point on her serve

⚡️ 30-30 LASERS a forehand DTL winner from her shoelaces

🤯 40-30 LASERS a second forehand winner and let’s out the biggest “C’mon!” of her life

Every time I rewatch that game, I jump out of my seat. It’s pure, peak tennis. Meanwhile Sabalenka was looking at her camp like:

Zooming out, Keys winning her first grand slam is already an incredible achievement. But the way she did it — playing some of her best, strategic tennis, beating Sabalenka at her own game, and coming up clutch in the big moments — makes the triumph ten times sweeter. Congrats Madison!

Trivia

On February 2nd 2004, Roger Federer assumed the No. 1 ranking, which he went on to hold for the next 237 weeks. Which player held the top spot just before Federer started his reign?

A. Marat Safin

B. Andy Roddick

C. Lleyton Hewitt

D. Juan Carlos Ferrero

Find out at the bottom!

Meet the Player

Beatriz Haddad Maia

From: Brazil 🇧🇷

Best Slam Result: SF (Roland Garros 2023)

Career High Ranking: 10 (Singles and Doubles)

Fun Fact: Has a degree in Business Administration 🧠

Game Analysis: Oh I wish I had Haddad Maia’s game. The Brazilian has huge groundstrokes off of both wings. She’s also lefty, which helps her pull her opponents out wide on the backhand side. But here’s the kicker — she’s got an unreal net game 🤤 This makes her dangerous from all parts of the court, and fun to watch.

Career Prediction: The 28-year old seems to be in the prime of her career. She’s finished in the top 20 for three straight years, and has made two deep runs at slams. She definitely has enough game to lift a major trophy (in either singles or doubles). And personally, I’d love to see a South American win one!

News

Headlines from Around the Tours

😠 Personal foul, unnecessary roughness. In a rare moment of physical contact in tennis, Zizou Bergs collided with his opponent Cristian Garin at a Davis Cup qualifying match. Bergs had just broken serve to go up 6-5 in the deciding set, and was running to his bench in excitement when he accidentally shoulder-checked the Chilean. After refusing to play, protesting that Bergs should be disqualified, Garin received a game penalty for consecutive time violations, which lost him the match. If you ask me, Bergs should have been DQ’ed asap.

⚠️ Do not leave valuables in your vehicle. Unless you have no choice. As part of her evacuation during the LA wildfires, Hall of Famer Pam Shriver put 11 of her 22 Grand Slam trophies in her Dodge Durango Hellcat (sick whip Pam). The car was stolen on January 15th, but was found this past Saturday, with all trophies present and in tact. Phew. The replacements that I 3D printed for her didn’t turn out so great.

Memes

When you pay for Tennis Channel but have to buy ESPN+ to watch the Grand Slams.

Answer

D. Juan Carlos Ferrero (JCF)

The Spaniard was World No. 1 just before Federer started his untouchable era. JCF now coaches some kid named Carlos Alcaraz.