Ash Barty vs. Madison Keys
This is interesting: World No. 1 vs. the momentum player of the tournament. Power vs. craft. A home-country favorite trying to win her first home Slam vs. an American trying to win her first Slam anywhere. We know how the points and rallies will likely play out: Keys will hit heavy ground strokes, while Barty will attempt to defuse or obviate that attack with slice, angles, serving, the occasional net rush and her own off-forehand. As Barty’s coach, Craig Tyzzer, says, “Look, she played [Camila] Giorgi who hits the ball a million miles an hour, and was able to absorb that pace and do something with it. I think Ash has other attributes. Her forehand is actually a weapon. Her slice will set her up a lot for her forehand. Her serve sets her up a lot for her shots as well.”
Barty and Keys have played three times, and Barty has won twice. But their last meeting came in 2019, and two of those matches were on clay. For Keys, the question is: Can she continue to work the points and maintain the balance between aggression and margin that she has found over the last 10 days, and that has often deserted her in the past? For Barty, the question is: Can she avoid the kind of surprise late-round collapse in Rod Laver Arena that has sent her out of this tournament the last two years? Winner: Barty