MELBOURNE, Australia — Madison Keys continued her resurgent 2022 season by reaching the semifinals of the Australian Open.
And resurgence might be a gross understatement.
Her 6-3, 6-2 quarterfinal win over French Open champion Barbora Krejcikova today was her 10th straight match win and 11th of the new year. That includes five wins so far at Melbourne Park, five in winning the Adelaide International title 10 days ago and one in a Melbourne tournament in the first week of the season.
Your total number of wins in 2021? The same number, 11.
“I did everything I could to rest this offseason and focus on starting fresh and new…starting from scratch and not concentrating on last year,” Keys said in her on-court interview. “I think things are going well so far!”
Last week, Keys shared more details about how awful 2021 has been for her.
“I was just at a very high anxiety level the whole time,” Keys said. “I didn’t sleep either. It felt like there was literally a weight on my chest just because I was so focused and obsessed that I wasn’t really enjoying anything just thinking about it.”
Krejcikova took a medical time-out while trailing 5-2 in the first set due to heat stress and appeared lethargic at times during the 35-minute second set.
Keys will play against either leaders Ash Barty or Jessica Pegula in the semifinals. Barty and Pegula played a night game at Rod Laver Arena.
On Alize Cornet’s 17th trip to the Australia Open, her 63rd run at a Grand Slam and two days after celebrating her 32nd birthday, Cornet finally qualified for the quarterfinals at one of the four major tennis tournaments. Dropping to her knees on the hard blue court, she clasped her hands and took a moment to let it sink in.
Recovering from a meltdown in the second set in the hot Melbourne sun on Monday, Cornet moved into the last eight at the Australian Open with a 6-4, 3-6, 6-4 win over two-time Major champion Simona Halep .
Her victory over Halep, a former Wimbledon and French Open champion and Australia runner-up, earned her a record for most appearances at a Major before reaching the quarterfinals. Tamarine Tanasugarn previously held the mark at 45 set at Wimbledon in 2008.
“It’s never too late to try again!” Cornet said in her TV interview in court. “To be in my first quarter-final. It’s a dream come true.
“The journey continues. I still can’t believe it.”
115th-ranked Kaia Kanepi had the same sentiment and waited until she was 36 to reach the quarter-finals in Australia, finally advancing when, after wasting four match points, she defeated second-seeded Aryna Sabalenka 5-7 , 6-2, 7 upset -6 (7).
Within seconds, fourth-placed Stefanos Tistsipas defeated No. 20 Taylor Fritz 4-6 6-4 4-6 6-3 6-4 at Rod Laver Arena to wrap up Day 8.
Kanepi’s game had to be rescheduled from the stadium’s main square due to a late day program. Kanepi wrapped it up just after midnight at Margaret Court Arena to stage a showdown against 2020 French Open champion Iga Swiatek who defeated Sorana Cirstea 5-7 6-3 6-3.
“I thought I was going to lose it after the match points I had on my serve,” said Kanepi, who had reached the quarterfinals twice in each of the other three Majors. “It was difficult to come back.
It helped that Sabalenka’s serve problems continued and she made 15 double faults, giving her 56 for the tournament.
“The Australian Open was the only quarterfinals of a Grand Slam that I missed,” said Kanepi. “At my age I didn’t think I could do it.”
The men’s marquee afternoon game was held at Margaret Court Arena, where US Open champion Daniil Medvedev defeated 70th-place Maxime Cressy 6-2, 7-6(4), 6-7(4), 7- 5 defeated.
Second-placed Medvedev is attempting to become the first man in the Open era to win his second major singles title at the next Grand Slam event. The US Open champion is now potentially three wins away from achieving that.
Cressy’s serve-and-volley style caused some frustration for Medvedev, who said towards the end of the fourth set that it was the “unhappiest day of my life”. His luck changed quickly. After saving eight break point chances in that set, Cressy was broken in that game and Medvedev served out.
Next he meets ninth-seeded Felix Auger-Aliassime, who defeated 2014 US Open champion Marin Cilic 2-6 7-6 (7) 6-2 7-6 (4). Medvedev beat the Canadian in the semifinals at the US Open last year.
Madison Keys, left, of the U.S. is congratulated by Barbora Krejcikova of the Czech Republic after their quarterfinal match at the Australian Open tennis championships in Melbourne, Australia, Tuesday January 25, 2022. (AP Photo/Andy Brownbill)
Madison Keys of the USA celebrates after defeating Barbora Krejcikova of the Czech Republic in their quarterfinal match at the Australian Open tennis championships in Melbourne, Australia, Tuesday January 25, 2022. (AP Photo/Andy Brownbill)
