Madison Keys just crushed her quarter-final match at the Australian Open! This is the third time she’s made it to the semis there. Can you believe it? It’s super cool because she played her first Grand Slam semi-final at the AO ten years ago! She really stepped up her game today, and it totally paid off. And get this, right after the match, Jessica Pegula, another American player, showed her some major love.

Keys and Elina Svitolina got into their 6th head-to-head battle in the iconic Rod Laver Arena this afternoon. Keys, who already won the battle 3-2 previously saw herself down in the first set by 3-6 against Elina, who had two screws inserted into her ankle last September. However, in the following two sets, she beat the Ukrainian 6-3 and 6-4 to end a grueling 1 hour and 53 minutes match, advancing to her seventh Grand Slam semifinal.

Keys, who is playing the AO final tour for the first time since 2022, remarked, “I’m really, really proud of myself to be in another semifinal here and kind of hoping and looking forward to see if I can make it one step further.” Simultaneously, Pegula took her Instagram and added a picture of Keys on-court interview, writing, “Let’s goooo @madisonkeys”. Well, talking about Pegula’s AO journey this year, it wasn’t exactly how she envisioned it.

The three-time AO quarterfinalist (2021,2022, 2023) Jessica Pegula’s this year’s edition was below expectations compared to her form at the season opener at the Adelaide International. Despite reaching the finals and losing to none other than Madison Keys, the American started the AO with a bang, beating Maya Joint and Elise Mertens in the first and second rounds respectively in the straight sets. However, despite entering her third match as a clear favorite against Olga Danilovic, the American drastically lost to 23-year-old 7-6 (7-3), 6-1 before, crashing out of the AO. 

Well, as things stand for Keys, she will now face world number No. 2 Iga Swiatek in a fascinating semi-final clash on a Thursday evening clash. However, to book her name in the final, Keys will need to push her limits as Iga will give a tough competition as it seems through her matches at current AO!

Swaitek admitting to a “tough match” against Madison Keys

After winning the Adelaide International in the opening of the season, Keys started her tournament with ease, posing dominating matches against opponents like Ann Li, Elena-Gabriela Ruse, and Danielle Collins before beating No. 6 Elena Rybakina in the fourth round. And after beating Elina Svitolina in the QF, she will be going head-to-head with an opponent, Iga Swiatek, who she played before 5 times with a 1-4 record.

On the back of 5 straight sets of wins in five matches, Iga’s 2025 season started with a banger at the current AO. Despite a doping controversy roaming around her name, the Polish didn’t go in a third set in the ongoing AO while winning against the likes of Kateřina Siniaková, Rebecca Šramková, Emma Raducanu, Eva Lys before winning against Emma Navarro today in the QF clash. But, going into the fight against Keys, the Polish added her remarks about Keys’ strength and promising to be a tough match.

“Obviously you know she also likes to play intense, pretty fast you know. She is using her powers especially on a faster hard court. So I need to ready for that and be proactive and also good you know I guess in Semis if you play against any opponent deserve to be there. So it’s going to be tough no matter what no matter who is on the other side of the net so I’ll do my best,” the world No. 2 said in her QFs post-match press conference.

Keys now stands just one win away from her second Grand Slam final appearance, the first since the 2017 US Open final. Will she be able to pull off a win against the Polish, or will Iga have the last laugh? Comment your predictions below!