Madison Keys has waited a long time to become a Grand Slam champion, but now she can finally tick that feat off her list.
Keys wants to be proud of her tennis, and she can certainly hold her head high after beating Aryna Sabalenka in the Australian Open final.
American star Keys shared her gratitude for her team after the victory at Rod Laver Arena, which was her second Grand Slam final.
Her compatriot Sloane Stephens beat Keys in the 2017 US Open final, with the former having beaten the latter in straight sets.
But she has recovered superbly from that 6-3, 6-0 loss with a 6-3, 2-6, 7-5 win over WTA number one Sabalenka.
Madison Keys stayed grounded after shock 2015 Australian Open win over Venus Williams
It was, however, back in 2015 that Keys truly introduced herself to the Australian Open and indeed Grand Slam tennis in general.
Keys reached the semi-finals of the tournament that year for her best Grand Slam finish at the time, despite being just 19 years old.
Unseeded, the teenager stormed into a quarter-final clash with 18th seed Venus Williams, who she shocked 6-3, 4-6, 6-4 to set up a semi-final meeting with her sister Serena Williams.
Despite receiving treatment for a leg injury after dropping serve in the second set, along with going 3-1 down in the decider, Keys battled to an unforgettable win in Melbourne.
Speaking after the huge upset, Keys said: “I mean, it definitely feels amazing. It’s one of those things where you want to feel this way all the time.
“But it’s not this unbelievable excitement either because you want to keep winning and you want to keep doing better.
“I am very happy and I am very excited, but also not getting too far ahead of myself and being too content where I am.”
Madison Keys loses to Serena Williams after stunning Australian Open run
Venus was understandably disappointed with the result, but she showed her true colours by congratulating her opponent.
“You have to give credit where credit is due,” said Williams. “She played really well. This is her moment today.
“I didn’t… I think it was pretty rare that I was able to string together three or four points without an error. That was unfortunate for me today. But next time I’ll be able to play more solid.”
Keys would go on to lose 7-6(7-5), 6-2 to Serena, who went on to lift the trophy with a final win over Maria Sharapova, representing her 19th Grand Slam title.
But the teenager showed what she was all about with the phenomenal run, which also involved a third round win over fourth seed Petra Kvitova.
Like Keys, countless players have broken onto the tennis scene as youngsters over the years, and intriguingly have gone on to achieve varying degrees of success.
And it is fair to say that the American found it difficult to live up to expectations following the 2015 Australian Open.
Doing exactly that is, of course, no mean feat, but Keys definitely rediscovered that battling spirit from her win over Williams to overcome Sabalenka.
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