A nervous Madison Keys said Tuesday she was “too shy” after starting her defense of her Australian Open crown with a choppy start, losing the first four matches before rallying to stay in the title race.
The ninth-seeded American was a bundle of nerves at Rod Laver Arena, but calmed down to notch a 7-6 (8/6), 6-1 victory over Ukrainian Oleksandra Oliynykova.
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Keys stunned Aryna Sabalenka 12 months ago in a three-set epic to win her first major crown at the age of 29, but she failed to persevere into 2025, failing to win any more titles.
She began her season with quarter-final eliminations in Brisbane and Adelaide, admitting before the Grand Slam to being nervous as the defending champion.
“I think at first I just felt like I was playing a little coy and not really trusting my first instinct,” she said.
“I kind of changed my mind about what I actually wanted to do.
“It also slowed down my footwork a lot. I was reacting instead of having a plan of what I wanted to do.”
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Playing in her 50th Grand Slam, unlike Oliynykova who was in her first, Keys committed three double faults and was broken in her first service game.
The Ukrainian, ranked 92nd and facing a top 50 player for the first time, consolidated with a position after six ties in the second game to take control.
Showing no nerves, she stunned the American by breaking again and ran 4-0 before Keys finally woke up and fought back.
She reduced the errors and found her serving range to win the next five games.
But Keys was broken again and went to a tiebreak, where she fell 4-0 down and had to save two set points before converting for the set with a storming crosscourt winner.
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This brutal comeback was the catalyst for a much more convincing second set, with an immediate break and a 4-0 lead before sealing the match with ease after 1h40.
Despite a rough start, Keys said it was a privilege to be back as defending champion.
“I’ve been thinking about this moment for almost a year,” she said of returning to the site of her greatest triumph.
“I was talking to (multiple Grand Slam winner) Lindsay Davenport yesterday.
“She reminded me that not many people can be defending champions at a Grand Slam, so I just try to accept it and enjoy it.
“And even though I was nervous at first, I’m really happy to be back and win this match.”
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