Keys didn't break stride. Didn't stop to stare. That bit of hardware then was placed near the net for the pre-match coin toss, close as can be to where the American stood.
Close enough to touch. Close enough to feel real. Also right there was her opponent, No. Keys was considered a future star before she was a teen, and this was her second chance to play for a major title: The first ended in a lopsided loss at the U. Open , an experience that taught her she would need to be able to play through nerves. It was only after accepting she might never capture a Slam title, and would be fine with that β a change that came after years of therapy β that Keys actually got there.
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Sure did. Keys, born in Illinois and now based in Florida, is the oldest woman to become a first-time Slam champ since Flavia Pennetta, who was 33 at the U. Before this three-set victory came one against No. When it ended, Keys covered her face with her hands, then raised her arms. Soon, she was hugging her husband, Bjorn Fratangelo β who has been her coach since β and other members of her team, before sitting on her sideline bench and laughing.
Sabalenka chucked her racket , covered her head with a white towel and briefly left the court, before returning for the post-match ceremony. But don't think this was merely an instance of Sabalenka being her own undoing. Also important was the way Keys, whose left thigh was taped for the match, covered every part of the court, racing to get to balls and send them back over the net with intent.
Never one to hide her emotions, Sabalenka kicked a ball after netting a volley and dropped her racket after missing an overhead. Sabalenka raised her winner total from four in the first set to 13 in the second and began accumulating, and converting, break points. When she sent a backhand down the line to force an error by Keys for a break and a lead in the second, Sabalenka shook her left fist and gritted her teeth.
