Elina Svitolina withstood a second-set fightback to defeat Madison Keys 6-2 1-6 6-1 and progress to the Australian Open quarter-final for the second successive year.
The Ukrainian, 24, lost both her previous meetings with the American, including an exciting last-16 clash at the 2017 US Open that also went the distance.
However, she was determined to win this time, and she produced some excellent tennis in the first and third sets to make it happen.
“I played good tennis today,” Svitolina said in her post-match interview. “Madison played great in the second set, so I had to raise my level. I was really happy I handled the pressure at one-all in the third set.”
Svitolina made a great start to the match. She played a variety of shots that rushed Keys and forced into all sorts of uncomfortable positions.
By contrast, the American could not seem to get going. She kept going for big shots and missing the court.
Consequently, the World No.17 made 11 unforced errors in the set. Svitolina, on the other hand, remained consistent throughout and wrapped up the first set 6-2 in just 31 minutes.
Keys storms back in set two
On some occasions in the past, Keys has struggled when a first set has gone that badly for her. But this time she quickly found her range in the second set and soon turned the match around.
It began with an easy hold. Then the American unleashed a series of huge groundstrokes to break the Ukrainian in the game.
In the third game, Keys had to work a bit harder to hold, but it did not seem to do her any harm as she proceeded to take apart Svitolina’s serve and break her to love to move 4-0 ahead.
The World No.6 finally got on the scoreboard in the set in the sixth game, but the set did not last much longer as the American held twice more with ease to close out the set 6-1.
Keys’ stats for the second set are very impressive: she hit 16 winners, made just five unforced errors, won 77% of all points behind her serve and won 27 of the 38 points played.
Svitolina produces her best tennis when it matters most
In the first game of the decider, Svitolina raised her game to hold. However, she soon found her serve under intense pressure again as the American took her to deuce an incredible 11 times in game three.
The Ukrainian managed to save three break points (one of them with a brilliant forehand on the stretch), and Keys wasted a couple more, before the World No.6 eventually hung on for what would prove to be a crucial hold.
After she failed to break, the World No.17 played a loose game on her own serve and suddenly found herself 3-1 down.
Svitolina celebrated the break enthusiastically and looked confident from that point on. She came in and finished a couple of points clinically during a comfortable hold of serve, and then worked Keys around the court intelligently to earn another break and give herself the chance to serve for the match at 5-1.
The Ukrainian made no mistake. She played a couple more excellent points during the game to secure the hold she needed to finish the match and seal her place in the last eight.
