The final morphed from a coronation for Sabalenka into a magical narrative of redemption as Keys won, 6-3, 2-6, 7-5. The three-set match lasted just over two hours, an unusually brief interlude for a match with such a long scoreline. It tells you a lot of what you need to know about what kind of battle it was.
Keys’ game was ablaze in the first set. She jumped to a 5-1 lead in the first set in just over 21 minutes. Sabalenka managed to extend the set by clawing back one of the breaks. It didn’t end up reversing the tide, but it earned her some valuable time to re-group mentally.
“I think she played, like, super aggressive,” Sabalenka, who sets the bar for aggressive play these days, told reporters later. “It seemed like everything was going her way. …Then in the second set I kind of got my rhythm back. From the second set, I would say the real tennis match started.”
Sabalenka’s first-serve percentage improved from a poor 59 percent in the first set to an outstanding 83 percent in the second. Meanwhile, Keys’ dropped from 86 percent to 59 percent. As Sabalenka elevated her game, Keys’ level of consistency and service proficiency dipped. When Sabalenka began to score with a potentially game-changing drop shot in the second set, it appeared almost certain that the defending champion would once again come roaring back.
