Madison Keys’ husband says wife finally got what she deserved with Melbourne win

Bjorn Fratangelo praised the perseverance of wife Madison Keys after she finally achieved her dream of winning a grand-slam title.

The 29-year-old defeated two-time defending champion Aryna Sabalenka in a thrilling contest at the Australian Open to fulfil the predictions of those who saw her burst onto the scene as a teenage prodigy.

Watching courtside after agreeing to become Keys’ coach last year during a difficult period was Fratangelo, her husband of a couple of months and the closest witness to her years of struggle.

Keys admitted after lifting the Daphne Akhurst Memorial Cup that the burden of expectation weighed increasingly heavily as the years went past before therapy helped her find pride in her career, with or without a major title.

Writing on Instagram, Fratangelo said: “For 8 years, I have watched you wonder if and when your time would come. Sometimes, you thought it never would.

“I never cared about any of that because to me you’re so much more than what you do with a racquet. Through your lowest of lows and all the highs, you stuck with it and finally get what you truly deserve.

“Everyone around you loves you so much and a grand slam is not needed for that. It’s been amazing to see you evolve over the last 18 months and no one can ever take this away from you.”

Keys is a hugely popular figure in the locker room and her victory was met with a flood of messages from players including Coco Gauff, Carlos Alcaraz and Sloane Stephens, who defeated Keys in her only previous slam final at the US Open in 2017.

It will also be a triumph that fuels the dreams of other players who believed that maybe their chance had gone.

“I’ve grown up with some other amazing people on this tour,” said Keys.

“Some of my closest friends also play. I think we all are very good at cheering each other on. Their wins feel like our wins.

“So, to be in the position of actually winning and them getting to be the cheerleaders, it feels really nice just because, after all these years, watching all of my friends do so well, it has always felt like a win for me. I’m happy that I can repay the favour.”

Keys will equal her career-high ranking of seventh in the world on Monday, making it four Americans in the top 10.

While she turns 30 next month, former Australian Open champion Jim Courier believes the manner of her success, with Keys trusting her first-strike tennis to beat first Iga Swiatek and then Sabalenka, can herald a new chapter.

“There were moments here at the end of the match where she stepped up and dominated, and those are moments that have escaped her in her past life as a tennis player,” said Eurosport pundit Courier.

“But this is her new life, a new start for her, and my goodness was she dominant when she needed to be, with the big shots and she took her chances. She believed that this time would be different and it is. She is now and forever a champion.”

Sabalenka retains her advantage over Swiatek at the top of the rankings, although the gap is now fewer than 200 points.