MELBOURNE: The irresistible force of Aryna Sabalenka meets the unbreakable spirit of Madison Keys on Saturday in an Australian Open women’s singles final that promises to be a thunderous slugfest.

Defending champion Sabalenka was hailed by beaten semifinalist Paula Badosa as being so good it was “like she’s playing a PlayStation” after dishing out a merciless straight-sets bludgeoning to her good friend.

The never-say-die American Keys, who will turn 30 next month, saved eight break points and a match point in a nerve-shredding final set against Iga Swiatek that went all the way to a 10-point tiebreak.

“Definitely some big-hitting. I think that is going to happen,” the powerful 19th seed Keys predicted of the final between two similar power players.

“Not a lot of long points.”

The final on Rod Laver Arena begins at 7:30pm (0830 GMT).

Keys and Sabalenka have met five times previously, with the Belarusian winning four, most recently on Beijing’s hard courts last year. Keys’s sole win came on grass in Berlin in 2021.

“She’s playing incredible tennis,” said Sabalenka.

“She’s a very aggressive player, serving well, moving well. She’s in great shape.

“It’s going to be a great battle.”

Sabalenka is guaranteed to remain at world No. 1 because of Swiatek’s defeat, while Keys will break back into the top 10 for the first time since 2019.

A victory in the final will see Keys equal the career-high ranking of seven she reached in 2016.

Both players are on 11-match win streaks after Sabalenka clinched the title in Brisbane and Keys followed suit in Adelaide.

Sabalenka, the modern-day queen of Melbourne Park, has won 20 straight matches on the famous blue hard courts. A 21st will complete a treble not witnessed this century.

The last three-peat in Melbourne was achieved by Martina Hingis in 1999 and only four other women have done it — Margaret Court, Evonne Goolagong, Steffi Graf and Monica Seles.

Three in a row is a rare achievement at any Slam and has only been done this century on three occasions.

At Roland Garros Justine Henin completed the treble in 2007 and Iga Swiatek emulated it last year.

Serena Williams won 23 Grand Slam singles titles but only managed a hat trick once, at the US Open from 2012-14.

Sabalenka will be in her fifth Slam final, Keys in only her second, having lost the 2017 US Open final 6-3, 6-0 to Sloane Stephens.

“I’ve obviously thought of that match endlessly for the past eight years,” said Keys, who broke down in tears after beating Swiatek in a see-sawing contest that lasted 2hr 35min.

“I was so consumed with being nervous and the moment that I never really gave myself a chance to actually play.

“You can also play tennis through that... is one of the biggest lessons that I take from that US Open final.”

The men’s doubles title will also be decided on the penultimate day of action at Melbourne Park.

Italian third seeds Simone Bolelli and Andrea Vavassori will face sixth seeds Harri Heliovaara of Finland and Britain’s Henry Patten in the final.

Bolelli and Vavassori are contesting their second consecutive Melbourne final after losing to Rohan Bopanna and Matthew Ebden a year ago.

The men’s singles and women’s doubles titles will be decided on Sunday, the 15th and final day of the tournament.
 

LONDON: Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca said Friday he is happy with his wide options despite reports linking the London club with a move for Manchester United winger Alejandro Garnacho.
The 20-year-old Argentina international has reportedly been the subject of interest from Chelsea and Italian side Napoli during the January transfer window.
Representatives of Garnacho were in attendance as Chelsea beat Wolves at Stamford Bridge on Monday.
Maresca, who is likely to be without Mykhailo Mudryk for an extended period as the Ukrainian awaits the outcome of a doping investigation, handed a Premier League debut to academy graduate Tyrique George during the 3-1 win, after being left with only three available senior wide forward.
Noni Madueke, Pedro Neto and Jadon Sancho have shared the two wide starting berths since Mudryk has been unavailable, while Joao Felix can also operate on the wings.
Maresca, whose team face Manchester City at the Etihad Stadium on Saturday, was asked at his pre-match press conference about the Garnacho reports.
“I’m happy with the ones that we have in this moment,” he said. “We said many times, on the right side is Pedro (Neto) and Noni (Madueke) and on the left side is Jadon (Sancho).
“Misha (Mudryk) was with us but now he is not with us but (we also have) Tyrique, I think it’s a young profile that can help us. In this moment, we are OK.”
The Italian said the club were keeping a close eye on options in the transfer market, with the window closing on February 3.
Fourth-placed Chelsea are seeking to open up a five-point gap on the champions in the race to qualify for next season’s Champions League.
Maresca was employed by City, first as coach of their elite development squad then latterly as an assistant to manager Pep Guardiola, either side of an unsuccessful and brief spell in charge of Italian Serie B side Parma.
The Chelsea boss spoke warmly about City, referring to the “trust, confidence and faith” they showed in him after his sacking by Parma.
And he downplayed suggestions that it was a good time to face Guardiola’s men, who have had a miserable season.
“It is probably on the other side,” he said. “I think this kind of club with these kind of players, when they are in a difficult moment, it’s when they want to show how good they are.
“They want to come against everyone and say: ‘OK, if you think we are not good enough, we are going to show you how good we are’, so I don’t think there is a good moment to play against City.”