Big Statement Made on Iga Swiatek’s Crushing Loss to Madison Keys at Australian Open: ‘Best Match I Have Seen’

Remember when Jessica Pegula claimed “If Madison Keys plays half as good as she did against me in the third set of the Adelaide Final, she will win the title,” before the Slam even started? Although Pegula’s comment set the stage, it wasn’t Keys’ last match that garnered that attention. When Iga Swiatek joined the American WTA star on the other side of the court, the clash became intense, highlighting a battle of styles. Commenting on that, Serena Williams’ former coach explained why this match meant more importance to her than others in the Slam.

The American WTA star defeated the Polish player by 5-7, 6-1, and 7(10)- 6(8) and entered the finals. Reflecting on why her match against Swiatek “May be the best match” she ever “watched courtside,” Stubbs said, “ I have seen dramatic matches there but I honestly think that is the best match I have seen Iga play on hard court ever and she won the US Open. She hit the ball so well, everything was going, she arguably should have ended up winning the match. She had a match point on her serve, did not hit a bad serve. Hit the right serve and went to the back and went to the weaker side of Madison.”

Despite Swiatek’s loss, she performed aggressively against Keys. She led the first set by 7-5 but it wasn’t her day. Before this loss, Swiatek led her head-to-head with Keys by 4-1. However, her victories against the American players were on clay courts mostly. Only in the 2022 Indian Wells, she defeated Keys on an outdoor hard court. After the 2022 Cincinnati Open, this is Swiatek’s second hard-court defeat against Keys.

Stubbs’ praise might begin with Swiatek but she also highlighted Madison Keys’ fierceness in her opinion. Reflecting on how changes helped Keys’ progress, Stubbs said, “Madison crushes back a return. There was nothing that she, that you could seriously critique but Maddie Keys to have the strength of mind cause we know the biggest issue for Madison has not been the way she hits the ball. The change of racquet has made the world of difference to her game. The serving, the step up and not the platform serve has made a world a difference to her serving. She is serving 9 miles an hour harder but the mental fortitude to win that match in the end and the way she won that match oh my God like what a f***king match that was.”