Madison Keys feels right at home playing in Australia. It’s been a happy hunting ground for the 29-year-old American, who has moved into the fourth-round with a fairly low-key victory over compatriot Danielle Collins under the Saturday night lights.
"I always really enjoy playing here. I typically find that the courts play pretty fast, which I've always typically liked," Keys said.
"I think I always just feel pretty confident coming off of a good off-season and feeling like I've put in a lot of really good work.
"I think I also really thrive when I have some time at home and I'm able to kind of reset, and get ready for the new year. I think there's just a lot of really good things about coming to Australia and starting the season."
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The off-season was big for Keys away from tennis too. She married her long-time partner, former tennis player, Bjorn Fratangelo, who is now her full-time coach. While that seems to be working well for now, Keys did joke about it during her on-court interview.
"It’s great that we get to see each other. He used to play as well, so we would go long periods without seeing each other, so it’s wonderful seeing him," she said.
"Having to admit that he’s right isn’t always my favourite thing, and it happens a lot more than I want it to, but I’m learning to just kind of nod."
There can be no doubt the Keys/Fratangelo partnership has started the season in hot form.
After falling in the Auckland quarter-finals, Keys made the short flight to Australia, and it was in Adelaide, a place she’s tasted success before (2022), where her form lifted a gear. Wins over four top-20 players, including Jessica Pegula in the final, gave her plenty of confidence that the things she worked on in the off-season were coming to fruition.
"We put in a lot of work in off-season. I decided to end my year a little bit early and break it up into two little blocks. Being able to have that time and actually make some tweaks and have the time to do that was really beneficial.
"Now it looks like it was a genius move… I think a lot of the changes, being able to actually implement them in matches, was my big goal for the beginning of the year. I feel like I've been doing it pretty well so far."
One of the things Keys did work on in the off-season was her serve. The former world No.7 started the process towards the end of last season, to give herself time to adjust before the Australian Open. However, tweaking her serve wasn’t exactly something she was too keen on.
Previously, her first serve percentage might have been high, but she wasn’t winning enough on her first serve. It meant her coach (and husband) had to sit down with her and talk about a change.
"I feel like I changed it kicking and screaming a little bit just because it was always something that worked well enough, so why mess with it?" she questioned.
"But then my body slowly started to fall apart a little bit with it, so that was kind of the final nail in the coffin where I had to actually make a change.
"I spent basically all of Beijing and all of Wuhan so uncomfortable, just because it wasn't [the] end game, but it wasn't what I wanted it to be either. So, just really trying to buy into that process took a little bit of patience.
"I'm really glad that I did it, and we were able to get to where it is now."
One of the aspects she’s worked on is to go for more on her serve. There’s always a fine line as a professional between making more first serves and taking advantage of the first serves you actually make.
"That was kind of the hard thing for me, just getting to the point of going for it more, and getting more free points is actually better than making every single first serve," she explained.
"I would come off the court and be, like, I was serving at 28 per cent. They're, like, you served at 65 per cent. I was, like, oh, okay, well, it felt like I missed every single first serve.
"Stats definitely helped me there, and it kind of took me out of how I was feeling and put me into a little bit more of a reality. It took a while for me to be okay to serve at 62 per cent or 58 per cent.'
So far this season, it’s been working for her. Before the Collins match, her average first serve percentage was 64.8 per cent (down from 69 per cent across season 2024), 44th on the WTA tour. Yet, her winning percentage on those first serves is up at 71.6 per cent (up from 59.6 per cent), placing her at 8th on the tour.
Keys has long been touted as a Grand Slam champion, but that accolade has so far eluded her. Despite being one of the most consistent players of the last decade, Keys’ best result has been runner-up at the 2017 US Open.
The 29-year-old has made two semi-finals in Melbourne, losing to Serena Williams in 2015, and Ash Barty in 2022. Both went on to win the title.
Her potential run to the title includes a fourth-round clash with Elena Rybakina, then possibly Elina Svitolina, Iga Świątek and Aryna Sabalenka. Her record against Rybakina stands at 2-2, while she holds a 3-2 advantage over Svitolina.
Should she come up against Świątek and Sabalenka, Keys will have to overturn a 1-4 head-to-head against each of them. A bigger serve may assist her in overturning those records.
Keys remains confident she can continue this win streak of eight matches.
"I think I can definitely continue to play well. I think I've done a pretty good job at continuing to do what I've been doing well. I think it's hard sometimes to come off a title win and just get thrown right into a Grand Slam. I think that's a little bit of a blessing and a curse, and it's something I'm trying to navigate," she said.
"I think if I can continue to do the things that I've been doing well and really just kind of keep my head down and try to stay focused on myself, I think I can continue to play some good tennis and hopefully be here for another week."
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