In the deciding set of the Australian Open finals on January 25, Illinois-born, Florida-raised Madison Keys, the 19th ranked player, steeled herself against her opponent, Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus, the formidable No.

MELBOURNE, Australia — Madison Keys beat Aryna Sabalenka 6-3, 2-6, 7-5 in the Australian Open final at Melbourne Park Saturday.

Australian Open champion Madison Keys credits therapy with helping her understand herself, and that helped her become a better tennis player.

Professional tennis players are generally well-accustomed to traveling with an excess amount of luggage, but boarding a flight with a grand slam trophy was a new experience for Madison Keys.

With women’s tennis on the verge of an epic showdown between its top two players with the Australian Open title on the line, Keys, the 29-year-old American, crashed the party. She stormed back against Iga Swiatek to win their semifinal 5-7, 6-1, 7-6 (10-8).

The Madison Keys who will play two-time defending champion Aryna Sabalenka for the title at the Australian Open on Saturday night is not the same Madison Keys who was the runner-up at the U.S.

The newlywed Keys, whose husband and coach is former American tennis player Bjorn Fratangelo, said after some much needed sleep, they'll be "back to work on Monday" to prepare for "lots of tournaments" including the BNP Paribas Open at Indian Wells and the Miami Open back to back in March.

American Madison Keys upset two-time defending champion Aryna Sabalenka, of Belarus, 6-3, 2-6, 7-5 during the Australian Open final Saturday night.

She is the oldest woman to become a first-time Slam champ since Flavia Pennetta was 33 at the 2015 U.S. Open. This was the 46th Slam appearance for Keys.

MELBOURNE, Australia — When Madison Keys stepped into Rod Laver Arena at 7:37 p.m. on Saturday night ahead of the Australian Open final, she strode right past the Daphne Akhurst Memorial Cup, the trophy that goes to the women’s champion and was placed on a pedestal near the entrance to the court.

Madison Keys is back into the Australian Open semifinals for a third time after her 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 win Wednesday over Elina Svitolina of Ukraine.

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 2015 U.S. Open. This was the 46th Slam appearance for Keys, the third most before winning a women’s major title, behind only Pennetta’s 49 and Marion Bartoli’s 47 when she won Wimbledon in 2013.