World No. 2 Aryna Sabalenka overcame USA's Madison Keys in straight sets to reach the Wimbledon semifinals for just the second time in her career.
The big-serving Belarusian star put together a near perfect performance to win the match 6-2 6-4 and set up a heavyweight clash with Ons Jabeur.
From the off, Sabalenka looked calm as she faced off with Keys for just the third time in her career, claiming a break in the opening game of the match with some fantastic returns of serve.
She then flew through the opening set, hitting multiple big winners as Keys both struggled to get her serve going and cope with her opponent's immense power.
The American star fought back in the second set, breaking Sabalenka to put herself up 4-2, but the second seed roared back instantly, gaining a break of her own after winning 11 straight points in impressive fashion.
Sabalenka broke again soon after before serving out the final game to move within one match of a first Wimbledon final.
Keys played well throughout the tournament — reaching the quarter final stage at SW19 for the second time in her career — but she'll rue a number of mistakes that gave her on-court rival some easy points.
MORE: Tennis' top grand slam winners of all time: Who has won the most titles?
Madison Keys vs. Aryna Sabalenka result
| 1 | 2 | |
|---|---|---|
| Madison Keys (25) | 2 | 4 |
| Aryna Sabalenka (2) | 6 | 6 |
Madison Keys vs. Aryna Sabalenka highlights from Wimbledon 2023
*Denotes server
Madison Keys 4-6* Aryna Sabalenka - Sabalenka reaches the semifinals of Wimbledon 2023
Keys returns the opening serve of this decider perfectly to claim the opening point but Sabalenka roars back by smashing a forehand cross court to make it 15-15. Another winner makes it 30-15 in the Belarusian's favour before she puts a shot into the net to tie it up again.
A huge ace brings up match point soon after for Sabalenka but Keys fights back to force deuce. The world No. 2 forces another match point and this time she converts it to reach the semi finals at Wimbledon in straight sets.
Sabalenka salutes the crowd as Keys makes her way off Court number 1 quickly. The American played well overall but her rival just had too much power for her today.
Madison Keys *4-5 Aryna Sabalenka
Oh boy, this match could be over out of nowhere. After establishing herself with a break in this set, Keys has completely lost her flow and is broken by Sabalenka with ease. The Belarusian puts together some great shots to claim three break point opportunities and eventually takes out the second after Keys loops up a volley long from the net.
The world No. 2 will now serve for the match.
Madison Keys 4-4* Aryna Sabalenka
Sabalenka shows off all the weapons in her arsenal during this latest game and smashes an ace home to win it without even dropping a point. That's nine straight points won by the world No. 2 - Keys needs to halt that progress quickly.
Madison Keys *4-3 Aryna Sabalenka
This match has been flipped on its head all of a sudden as a confident-looking Keys wins the first three points of the next game but wait, here comes Sabalenka! The Belarusian fights back to 30-40 before then forcing deuce and finding a break point opportunity straight away. Keys fires long and Sabalenka breaks straight back after winning five consecutive points. Where did that come from?!
In the other women's quarter final today, Elena Rybakina wins the first set against Ons Jabeur.
Madison Keys 4-2* Aryna Sabalenka
Keys begins to pile the pressure on the Sabalenka serve and she wins a huge rally to make it 30-30 much to the crowd's delight. In retaliation though, the Belarusian then serves at 119mph to make it 40-30 but Keys again responds to smash home a winning return down the line.
Another beautiful return off the serve from the American gives her a break point but she lets it slip after smashing into the net when she would have expected to make the shot. We then repeat as Keys misses another break point opportunity but Sabalenka hits long and Keys finally has the break at the third chance.
Game on!
Madison Keys *3-2 Aryna Sabalenka
After being 40-0 up after the early exchanges of this latest game, all of a sudden Keys finds herself in deuce again on her serve. There's no panic this time around though as Sabalenka gives up the advantage and then the American smashes home a backhand to take the game. That's a much improved showing under pressure from the Illinois native!
Madison Keys 2-2* Aryna Sabalenka
The roof begins to close on Court 1 but we continue here for now. Sabalenka opens with an ace before forcing Keys into another shot that hits the net from the American. A double fault makes it 40-15 before Keys returns a serve long to give the Belarusian the fourth match of this set.
Madison Keys *2-1 Aryna Sabalenka
What will annoy Keys is that amongst the mistakes which are costing her dearly, she's playing some fantastic winners. Her first levels the game at 15-15 as she crashes a backhand right down the line but more errors send the game to deuce. From there, she twice fails to close out the game with advantage on two occasions before she eventually gets over the line thanks to a Sabalenka error into the net.
Madison Keys 1-1* Aryna Sabalenka
When things aren't going your way it can prove difficult to not get annoyed by them and that goes for Sabalenka's first point in the second game of the second set. The world No. 2 hit the ball so hard at the net that somehow it still trickled over in her advantage and Keys can do nothing about it.
A couple of loose shots from the American then put Sabalenka 40-15 up before Keys again fires into the net under not much pressure.
Madison Keys *1-0 Aryna Sabalenka
Sabalenka is the master of drawing out longer points and although Keys wins the opening game of this second set, her service games are proving difficult.
She eventually wins the game with two lovely winners that drag the Belarusian out of place but there's still errors in Keys' that need to be eradicated quickly.
Madison Keys 2-6* Aryna Sabalenka - Sabalenka wins the first set
Although she misreads a couple of shots and gives away a few points into the net, Sabalenka serves out the game and takes the first set. Keys did engineer one break point - her first of the match - but the Belarusian smashes home a forehand to force deuce. Keys then produces a stunning return to save one set point before then saving another but she can't fight off her rival's advances anymore and Sabalenka takes the first set after just 38 minutes of play.
Madison Keys *2-5 Aryna Sabalenka
After a very short delay for a little rain shower on Court 1, we continue and Keys sees out a second service game. Still the first serve is faltering but her second serve has such shape on it that it's causing Sabalenka problems. It loops up three times to give her a 40-0 lead and although she then squandered a point, she gets over the line with an ace.
Madison Keys 1-5* Aryna Sabalenka
Sabalenka is absolutely flying here. She loses the first point to a Keys return but after it's a case of bang, bang, bang and that's another game won for the Belarusian. Her power is phenomenal and so far her serve is averaging at 108mph. Another break here and she'll have taken the first set with relative ease.
Madison Keys *1-4 Aryna Sabalenka
Keys continues to struggle with her first serve and Sabalenka pounces to get two more break points. The first is fought off with a quick serve from the American but the second isn't missed by the Belarusian. Her return isn't the best in truth but Keys spins it straight into the net and its a double break.
The trainer is out for Keys now, hopefully that's just a precaution as tablets as administered.
Madison Keys 1-3* Aryna Sabalenka
It's another service game for Sabalenka and another game won as she cruises through the fourth in style.
Keys already has seven unforced errors to her name, a figure that needs to stop rising so quickly if she wants to take the victory this afternoon.
Madison Keys *1-2 Aryna Sabalenka
That's more like it from Keys as she wins the third game and her first on serve. An ace kicked off proceedings before the pair alternated winning points. Eventually she comes through and gets off the mark.
The American then talks to the umpire about something when heading back to her seat. Maybe if the roof is going to be closed? Who knows..
Madison Keys 0-2* Aryna Sabalenka
It's the first chance we get to see the Sabalenka serve today and it seems to be in good shape. After falling 0-15 behind, the world No. 2 rallies to take a 2-0 lead after the opening two sets. Keys did play a lovely return during that set, right down the line, which should give her plenty of confidence.
Madison Keys *0-1 Aryna Sabalenka
With light rain falling on Court 1, we begin this quarter final match with the roof off which seems a strange decision given the weather forecast.
It's far from an ideal start for Keys as Sabalenka breaks her serve straight away. The first serve wasn't quite there for the American and her on-court rival takes first blood eventually after wasting three previous break points. It's a lovely clipped back hand that does the damage for the Belarusian.
1 p.m BST/ 8 a.m ET: Keys and Sabalenka are lined up in the tunnel as they wait to come out onto Court 1 for their highly-anticipated quarter final clash.
Expect some fireworks here with a semi final spot on the line!
12:30 p.m. BST/ 7.30 a.m. ET: As for Keys' opponent here, Belarusian star Aryna Sabalenka will be a very tough nut to crack in this latest clash.
The current world No. 2 has already won the Australian Open this year whilst she also reached the semi final stage of the French Open last month - both event-high finishes in her career.
This year overall she holds a stunning win/loss record of 40-7 and overall, has three singles titles to her name.
12:00 p.m. BST/ 7.00 a.m. ET: After beating Mirra Andreeva in the last round, Madison Keys equalled her best ever Wimbledon showing of a quarter final appearance.
That came back in 2015, though she'll be hoping for a better result this time around as she lost in three sets to Poland's Agnieszka Radwańska on that first occasion.
11:30 a.m. BST/ 6.30 a.m. ET: Hello and welcome to The Sporting News' coverage of Madison Keys versus Arena Sabalenka in the quarterfinals of Wimbledon 2023.
The Belarusian world No. 2 and current Australian Open champion will be the big favourite heading into this last eight clash but can Keys provide an upset and reach her first ever semifinal at SW19?
How to watch Madison Keys vs. Aryna Sabalenka at Wimbledon 2023 in Australia
The 2023 edition of Wimbledon is being broadcast live and free by Nine. The action is being shown on either Channel 9 or their secondary channel 9Gem, depending on the session and time.
Every match of Wimbledon 2023 can be live-streamed in Australia on paid subscription service Stan Sport. Selected matches are available in 4K.
Fans can also stream the action for free via 9Now, which shows the standard free-to-air broadcast.
MORE: Undesirable No.1: Why Novak Djokovic is the GOAT of men's tennis, whether you like it or not
How to watch Madison Keys vs. Aryna Sabalenka at Wimbledon 2023 in USA
Wimbledon matches will be broadcast on the ESPN family of networks in the United States. There are several ways to live stream the tournament: ESPN+, the ESPN app, or Fubo, which offers a free trial.
How to watch Madison Keys vs. Aryna Sabalenka at Wimbledon 2023 in the UK
Wimbledon remains available to watch on free-to-air television in the United Kingdom. Live matches will air on BBC One, BBC Two and the BBC Red Button. Viewers can also choose up to 18 courts to watch through their smart TVs and also on BBC iPlayer, the BBC Sport website and app.
Wimbledon is also shown on Eurosport to UK viewers. Eurosport will broadcast the Championships every day on Eurosport 1 daily and then via highlights. Coverage will be available on the Discovery + streaming platform and on Eurosport online, too.