Madison Keys feels defending champion boost through two wins at Australian Open

MELBOURNE, Australia—Two wins into her Australian Open title defense, Madison Keys is starting to feel the benefits of being the reigning champion.

“It definitely feels very special obviously going out [on court],” the No. 9 seed said after a 6-1, 7-5 victory over Ashlyn Kreuger. “I feel like I've always had pretty good crowd support here, but I think that's heightened now, which is always very nice but I think still kind of similar.”

Keys didn’t expect a Grand Slam title to transform her into a different person—if anything, that understanding is what freed her up to finally win one—but some of that aura has certainly helped her defeat two tricky and very different opponents to kick off the first week.

She rallied from 0-4 and two set points down in her first round against Oleksandra Oliynykova and weathered a similar storm in the second set to edge past her countrywoman in straight sets.

“I think in those tough kind of moments like today, getting down in that second set, just kind of reminding yourself that you have been here before, you figured it out,” she said in her post-match press conference. “I think when you're able to do that in a place where you have had success, it just feels like it comes a little bit easier.”

Tennis doesn’t have an answer to golf’s green blazer, but Keys has nonetheless felt the love around the grounds as she prepares to make a bid for the second week in Melbourne.

“Honestly, the tournament has been absolutely amazing. They have gone above and beyond. I keep seeing my face everywhere, so I really don't need anything else,” she said with a laugh.

Speaking about her return Down Under before the tournament, Keys was introspective of what it means to be a defending champion at a major tournament, how the ultimate success may airbrush away some of the struggles it took to get there.

“I think you look back and it's kind of easy to be like, ‘Wow, everything was amazing, I can't believe it.’ But also you think about, like, ‘Wow, I almost lost. I was match point down,’” she said, likely referencing her back-to-back three-setters against Iga Swiatek and Aryna Sabalenka in last year’s semis and finals. “There were some ugly matches. I think it kind of just makes everything a little bit better just because it wasn't issue-free.

“But, I mean, it's really just incredible to walk around. It's really just so kind of a pinch-me moment where you dream of being a Grand Slam champion when you're a little girl, then being able to come back…

“I'm really trying to just kind of embrace that and take it in and soak it in, because I feel like so often we look back and we regret that, even in the hard moments that were stressful and pressure and all that, we didn't find all the fun parts of it,” she added.

“I'm really just trying to soak in all of, like, the really cool fun parts, like walking in and seeing a picture of me holding the trophy. I could never have dreamed of that happening.”

Keys will hope to continue channeling fan support through her next match, where she’ll face former world No. 1 Karolina Pliskova in the third round.