Announcing her arrival

POSTED BY BESS: Madison Keys, dear readers. She came... she thumped her serves... and, ultimately, she lost.

But in the process she impressed. She gained fans. And she went toe-to-toe with the world #1... something we have rarely seen in recent memory. 

She leaves Melbourne a hotter commodity than when she arrived, that's for sure. Nearly everyone is predicting a great future on the greatest of tennis stages. I'm already bemoaning the vacuum months of February through May while we await the next slam. 

But first, let's revel a bit in last night's match. Sports Illustrated noted these crazy stats:

• Another notable stat: Keys won 21 of 28 rallies that lasted five shots or more.

And that's why Madison should hold her head high. All that, and the eight match points she saved, seven of which came in a marathon, 10-minute game on her serve, down 5-1 in the second set. 

She just wasn't intimidated. At all. By Serena or the occasion. I loved it!

Even Dave agreed:

And so the final is set... 

Serena vs. Maria. World #1 vs. World #2. Their head-to-head is terribly one-sided, in Serena's favor, so I'm dubious about the quality of the match. I'm hoping to be proven wrong, especially since I will be getting up at 2:30 a.m. to watch it!

As it is, sweet dreams for me tonight. And I hope for Keys, as well. She's earned them. 

DAVE CHIMES IN: Madison has arrived. Who can doubt that? And if her final service game against Serena was any indication (i.e. holding off more than a half-dozen match points!), the future looks very bright for Madison, indeed.


I'm as big a fan of Maria. Always have been. But, like Bess, I doubt she can or will prevail in the final. Serena is so close to claiming her 19th Grand Slam title. It's hard to fathom someone as focused as Serena letting this moment slip past.

TENNIS FANS: Are you still out there? Watching tennis? Cheering on your favorites? Reading our blog? Let us know what's keeping you engaged in the latter stages of this slam.