“I don’t know how I turned it around,” Aryna Sabalenka HAILS Madison Keys’ performance as she scripts a historic comeback to reach her maiden US Open final

Aryna Sabalenka won an epic semi-final clash to proceed to the US Open finals and also made some interesting comments..

“I don’t know how I turned it around,” Aryna Sabalenka HAILS Madison Keys’ performance as she scripts a historic comeback to reach her maiden US Open final

Aryna Sabalenka and Madison Keys (via Imago)

Belarusian professional tennis player Aryna Sabalenka emerged as the winner in a 3-set thriller against American Madison Keys in the semi-finals of the US Open 2023 to secure a spot in the championship round of the tournament. She will play in her first final at Flushing Meadows, facing American teen Coco Gauff on Sunday at Arthur Ashe Stadium.

Sabalenka, who pulled off multiple comebacks in the late-night thriller, was absolutely surprised to show she got back up after losing the opening set 6-0. Aryna, in her on-court interview after the match, said, “She played incredible tennis. It was another level. I don’t know how I turned it around.” This comeback makes Aryna Sabalenka only the third woman in the history of the Open Era to win a Grand Slam semi-final after losing the opening set 6-0. The other two were Steffi Graf and Ana Ivanovic.

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It was a miraculous escape from the brink of losing the match in the second set when the World No. 2 was just a game away from losing the semi-final clash at 5-3 in favor of Madison Keys. On scripting this epic comeback, Aryna stated that she had no clue how she turned the match around at the last moment.

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She also thanked the crowd for staying for the entire match, which lasted for quite some time. She added, “I know you guys want her to win. That’s normal.. but thanks for staying that late. Thank you for those who supported me. I love you guys.”

There were multiple instances when it seemed like the match would quickly go in favor of World No. 17. After losing the first set 6-0 and being down two games in the second set by 5-3, little did anyone expect a comeback of this level. Even after winning the second set, all was not over for the Belarusian.

She was down 4-2 in the last set as well. She staged a comeback yet again, breaking Keys to equalize the score at 4-4. From this point on, both held their serve, leading to a 10-point match tiebreak, with Aryna Sabalenka eventually emerging as the winner.

Sabalenka completely turned the match around to go up 3-1 in the head-to-head tally against Madison Keys. She is now in her second final of a major and will also turn World. No. 1 after the US Open. She will move a spot ahead in the WTA rankings after Iga Swiatek’s shocking defeat against Jelena Ostapenko in the 4th round.

Also Read: “I wouldn’t change anything about it,” Coco Gauff reminisces about the ’emotional’ moment she had with Naomi Osaka during the 2019 US Open

Aryna Sabalenka is all set to face Coco Gauff in the US Open finals

Aryna Sabalenka
Aryna Sabalenka (Credits: Sporting News)

Sabalenka will face American Coco Gauff in the finals of the US Open 2023. The American teen is expected to gain huge home crowd support. Adding to this, Sabalenka said, “The crowd will be supporting her a lot. That’s something I expect. I’ll just go there and just do everything I can. I’ll be there and I’ll be fighting for every point and do my best.”

She also praised her for her impressive performance at the US Open this year. It will be an exciting clash between the two. Both of them will play in their first final in New York. The 2023 Australian Open Champion, Sabalenka, will be looking to extend her Grand Slam Titles while Gauff will be looking to win her first.

Both have been playing confidently from the start, and their semi-final matches have been proof of their utter brilliance in this tournament. It will be a tough clash for both, as they will give it their all in New York on Sunday.

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