Madison Keys had to come from behind to win the first match of her Australian Open title defense.
Keys won the Australian Open title last year, beating Aryna Sabalenka in the final to lift the first Grand Slam of her career.
As a result, there is a lot more attention on Keys as the defending champion coming into this year’s tournament.
Keys was able to make a winning start to her Australian Open title defense, but it certainly was not easy for the ninth seed.
Madison Keys explains what was going wrong in the first set against Oleksandra Oliynykova
Keys beat Grand Slam debutant Oleksandra Oliynykova, 7-6(6) 6-1, but the final scoreline only tells half the story.
The defending Australian Open champion actually lost the first four games of the match, with Keys also facing two set points in the tie-break as well.
Keys has spoken about wanting to go for her shots more this year, which she admitted she wasn’t doing enough before pulling it together to win the last four consecutive points of the first set.
“I think at that point I had kind of just felt like I was playing a little bit too passive and timid and just not really taking advantage when I could,” Keys said in her post-match press conference.
“I feel like when I’m playing my best tennis, when I see my opportunities, I go for it. So when I went down — was it 6-4? When I went down 6-4, I felt like I had at least played the right point, and if I lose points playing that way, then I’m fine with it.
“So kind of from that point kind of changed the momentum a little bit for me. Then after that, it was really just I was going to trust myself and go for my shots.”
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When Keys was further questioned on her slow start against Oliynykova, she spoke about being too indecisive at the start of the match before relaxing into it after winning the first game.
“I think at the start I just felt like I was playing just a little timid and not really trusting my first instinct,” added Keys. “I felt like I kind of kept changing my mind on what I actually wanted to do. I felt like that was really slowing down my footwork as well. I felt like I was reacting instead of having a plan of what I wanted to do.
“I think it was, what, 4-Love? I think it was, like, once I kind of got that first game, I kind of relaxed a little bit. And I felt like I was thinking clearly enough, even being down 4-Love, that I was there enough that I could understand what I was doing and how I think I needed to fix it.
“I felt like from that moment I kind of was slowly able to, like, piece things together a little bit, and then I felt like the end of that tiebreaker really just kind of solidified things.”
Madison Keys reveals how she felt walking on Rod Laver Arena as the defending champion
This is the first time that Keys has stepped out on to court at a Grand Slam tournament as the defending champion, and she was asked if the preparations she had made for this moment lived up to how it really felt when she was out there.
While Keys suggested that she was nervous and stressed walking out on to Rod Laver Arena, she was telling herself that only a few players get to experience what she did.
“I don’t think it all goes out the window,” answered Keys. “I definitely think that no matter what you think it’s going to be like, how you try to prepare yourself, I think when you do all of that, you at least know that you have done your part to be ready for the occasion.
“But, I mean, the moment they say, ‘Ready, play,’ it kind of all hits you in a way that I don’t think you can ever really explain to someone.
“But, again, as nerve-racking and as stressful as that can be, I’m still reminding myself of just how few people get to be in that moment, and being able to walk out today and have the crowd be as welcoming as they were, it’s, I mean, I’ll take the stress any day (smiling).”
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After beating Oliynykova, Keys will now move on to the second round where she will play against her compatriot Ashlyn Krueger.
This will be a first-time meeting between the two Americans, with the match taking place on Thursday, January 22.
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