Tag: Federer

Mats Wilander backed Sabalenka to win the Australian Open before the event got underway, with the WTA number one certainly favourite to come out on top once more.

Sabalenka is chasing a third successive title in Melbourne and fourth career Grand Slam title, with Keys yet to taste such success.

But the American has just overcome former world number one Iga Swiatek, having narrowly edged out the Pole in their Australian Open semi-final clash.

Aryna Sabalenka’s ability to get over the line likened to Roger Federer and Serena Williams

But Keys’ coach and husband Bjorn Fratangelo is expecting an entirely different test against Sabalenka, such has been her superb career so far.

Keys mentioned that the Belarusian has been a reference point for her, although she has now evolved, with Fratangelo tasked with explaining what now stands out about Sabalenka.

READ MORE: Billie Jean King and Jessica Pegula react after Madison Keys beats Iga Swiatek to reach Australian Open final

“Yeah, I think she’s number one in the world for a reason,” he said. “But I agree with you, maybe Aryna is a little more of the polished version of Madison.

“Similar in size, similar game style. Aryna I think just does things a little bit better over the course of a 52-week calendar year, you know?

“But yeah, what I’ve seen from her now is just what the greats do, is they have the ability to raise the level when it matters most.

“For instance, in that [Anastasia] Pavlyuchenkova match (quarter-final), I was watching that at night in the room in the hotel, and there just wasn’t a doubt in my mind that she wasn’t going to win that match.

“That’s kind of how you feel with Novak [Djokovic] when he plays most matches, Serena [Williams] when she played most matches, Roger [Federer], Rafa [Nadal], you know. I think she has that now.

“I think the difference with her and Iga is Iga brings that sort of Nadal mentality towards every single point, where I would say maybe Sabalenka’s mindset is a little more Federer-like: you can throw in some errors, people will hold serve, but at the crunch moments, she’s going to win.

“That’s what she’s been able to do so well. It’s a credit to her and her team. She keeps improving year after year. Tomorrow is going to be tough, but I have a good feeling about it.”

Madison Keys vs Aryna Sabalenka career stats ahead of Australian Open final

At 29, Keys is three years older than Sabalenka, and could rely on that experience if the going gets tough during the match, which is very likely will.

The latter is, however, already an 18-time WTA champion, and knows what it takes to thrive in the most high-pressure situations.

READ MORE: Tim Henman thinks Aryna Sabalenka has made a ‘very bizarre’ change to her game despite reaching Australian Open final

She also leads Keys 4-1 in their head-to-head record, although that is the same record the American had with Swiatek before that superb semi-final win.

Form simply could go out of the window in this one-off tie, where nerves, the crowd and weather all come into play to throw doubt on the most likely winner.

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