Andy Roddick states what Madison Keys must do with her serve in Australian Open final to have any chance of beating Aryna Sabalenka

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Madison Keys is once again the underdog at the Australian Open, with the American set for a final clash against two-time defending champion Aryna Sabalenka.

WTA number 14 Keys shocked number two Iga Swiatek in their Australian Open semi-final, coming from behind to win 5-7, 6-1, 7-6(10-8).

Coco Gauff was happy to see Keys win her semi-final battle with Swiatek, while her former coach Brad Gilbert highlighted American women’s Australian Open success in recent times following the victory.

World number one Sabalenka meanwhile eased past Paula Badosa in their semi-final, with the Belarusian and Keys now set to go head-to-head at Rod Laver Arena for the top prize.

Sabalenka won the Australian Open in 2023 and 2024 against Elena Rybakina and Qinwen Zheng respectively, and is now the favourite to secure the hat-trick in Melbourne.

Andy Roddick tells Madison Keys what first serve in percentage she needs to beat Aryna Sabalenka

Former US Open champion Andy Roddick has, however, now shared some advice for his compatriot ahead of the match.

“If Maddie Keys wants to win the Australian Open her [first serve] number needs to be up around that 69/70%,” he said on the Served with Andy Roddick podcast. “It needs to be above 65, 67%. And she will have to move the second serve around the box a little bit.

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“The kick is great because it gets up above. Iga was able to handle it. Sabalenka will be able to handle it. I would love to see her mix it up, even early against Sabalenka so she doesn’t know what is coming.

“If Sabalenka knows what is coming, she is going to put an absolute hurt on the ball and Maddie is going to have to switch directions more than she likes to. Maddie was threading lines today [vs Swiatek], she is going to have to do more of that.”

Madison Keys first serve in stats at Australian Open ahead of final vs Aryna Sabalenka

Keys simply didn’t give up against Swiatek, with the latter having been serving for victory at 6-5 in the decider.

The former also trailed for the majority of the tiebreak, having been losing 7-5, but her serve came alive as she turned the match on its head.

READ MORE: Aryna Sabalenka states what Madison Keys has done against her which no other WTA player has ahead of Australian Open final

Keys clinched the final three points and converted her first match point, finally securing a superb win after more than two-and-a-half hours.

A huge seven aces were fired down compared to zero from the Pole, while Keys had four double faults to Swiatek’s seven.

It is, however, the first serve in percentage that former world number one Roddick really wants his fellow American to focus on in the final.

Thus far at the Australian Open, Keys has almost always been hitting his ideal figure, but the pressure will undoubtedly be ramped up against Sabalenka.