Madison Keys retrouve la finale d'un Grand Chelem ! Sept ans et demi après sa finale à l'US Open 2017, perdue contre Sloane Stephens, l'Américaine aura samedi à l'Open d'Australie une deuxième chance de décrocher son premier titre du Grand Chelem. Opposée à la n°2 mondiale Iga Swiatek en demies, la 14e joueuse mondiale, percutante et toujours aussi offensive, a imposé sa puissance de frappes avec 36 coups gagnants. Brillante cette année et titrée à Adélaïde avant Melbourne, Keys a sauvé une balle de match à 6-5 dans la troisième manche et décroché une onzième victoire de suite. Il faudra un autre exploit en finale face à la double tenante du titre Aryna Sabalenka.
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SportTranscription
00:00Yeah, I think I'm still trying to come down and figure out where I am, but really proud
00:11of myself for being able to stay in that.
00:15Obviously being up in the third and feeling like I was so close to the finish line and
00:20losing my serve and then being able to just kind of stay as close as I could in that tie
00:27breaker until the end.
00:29Just really proud of myself for that match.
00:31Okay, we'll start with David and then Ben.
00:35I'm just, I don't want to bring your mind back to a sad moment, but I remember when
00:40you lost your semi-final to Arena.
00:44You're welcome.
00:45I imagine it couldn't be any more different in terms of the feeling right now.
00:52I just wondered between then and now, did you ever doubt that this sort of moment might
00:58come?
01:01I would be lying if I said that there wasn't doubts.
01:04I think that felt like such a huge moment and I felt like I was so close and to be that
01:12close and to lose it was just so heartbreaking and I felt like I'd really left it all out
01:20there and that's really all you can ask, but at the end of the day, it's still such
01:27a tough one to have to go home on.
01:29So that one took a little while to kind of heal from and get past, but I think at the
01:38same time, I just kept telling myself that if I just keep putting in the work and doing
01:45my best and leaving it all out there, that's the only thing that I can do and that's the
01:50only thing that I can control and typically those are the things that good things tend
01:56to happen from that.
01:57So really just trying to do what I can control, try to get out and compete and play as many
02:05matches as I could and then try to just really run with the momentum.
02:09So, yeah, obviously two very different days from then and now.
02:17Yeah, I think today feels so great and I think kind of the way that the match happened where
02:27it was such a close one and so hard fought, it mirrors it in some ways.
02:34So being able to get the win and be on the other side of that feels really, really nice.
02:41Okay, we'll do Ben, Charlie, Matt, Ben.
02:44You said you're trying to come down.
02:47Can you describe what it's like up where you are currently and then you want to answer
02:52that in a different way?
02:53I mean, honestly, it's just kind of like blacked out.
02:55Like I can't really put sentences together totally and it just kind of feels like everything
03:02is happening very quickly and I'm just kind of trying to figure out what's going on.
03:06And the second thing was just about the conditions because it's a relatively cold, blustery night
03:11out and so getting to play when it's warm and under a roof, how much was that helping
03:16you feel good out there?
03:21I guess, honestly, I kind of forgot that they closed the roof.
03:24I forgot that it started open.
03:26But, yeah, obviously, it's always nice to play when it's a little bit warmer and I typically
03:33like to play when I'm a little bit sweatier and there's a little bit more temperature.
03:40And I mean, I'd be lying if I said that we don't love when there's no wind.
03:45Okay, Charlie, Matt, then Aki, Charlie.
03:48Congratulations.
03:49Just looking ahead to Saturday, just wonder for you kind of what you think are the toughest
03:54things about playing Arena.
03:55You've obviously played her in some big matches.
03:58We know about the power and you mentioned that on court, but is that the main thing
04:02or are there kind of other aspects that you think kind of have set her apart?
04:06I think what's really impressive is her mentality and I think her ability to kind of always
04:14go for it no matter what the score is, is really impressive.
04:19And I mean, she plays such fearless tennis and she has the ability to play so well that
04:28way.
04:28I think it's very unique.
04:31I think a lot of people, no matter what, even if it was a tight point, you kind of expect
04:36them to play a little bit more conservative or back down a little bit and, you know, she's
04:40not going to do that.
04:40So I think not only is that impressive on her side, but I think it puts a little bit
04:45more pressure on her opponents where, you know, you're always going to have to try to
04:50win the point because she's never going to just play passive and give you an easy point.
04:56Does she have a reference point for you then, given you play maybe comparable styles?
05:01Yeah, definitely.
05:02I think I've always been really impressed with how she's been able to do that and I
05:06think the one thing that I really wanted to try to be better at was not playing more passive
05:13in big points and really, honestly, just trying to emulate the way that she trusts
05:19her game and she goes after it.
05:21And I think if you're able to do that and you miss and you lose, but it's on your terms,
05:29it's a little bit easier to swallow than if you're kind of playing a little bit passive
05:33and things don't go the way that you want them to anyways.
05:36OK, Matt, Aki, and then Mark.
05:38Matt?
05:40That thing you said on court about not knowing whether you faced a match point, were you
05:46really not aware?
05:48I had no idea what the score was.
05:50So that's my question.
05:53When it's 4-4, are you just playing points and listening to the stadium announcer or
06:01the chair umpire to tell you what the score is and what was it like inside your head during
06:07those last 15 minutes of the match?
06:10I think it was really just, I kind of just kept telling myself just try to get the next
06:16point, especially at the end of the match.
06:22I really was just so focused on what I wanted to try to do and I think it helped me because
06:30I was able to just kind of solely focus on that.
06:33Um, and really was just, I just kept saying, like, just try to get this next point and
06:39only focus on this point and then win it or lose it.
06:43Moved on to the next point and just kept trying to, you know, stay as close as I could.
06:49OK, Aki, and then Mark, and then Jumaane.
06:52Aki?
06:55I read some article, actually written by Ben, which is about you and your husband,
07:02Bjorn, and the switching racket.
07:04So can you talk a little bit about how it happens and how much does the new racket contribute
07:11to your play style or change your play style or make your performance better?
07:20Bjorn and I, we were kind of starting to tinker with some things last year, making some changes,
07:26kind of started with some of the injuries that I was having, just trying to make things
07:31a little bit easier on my body and my game, and made some changes.
07:37Things were pretty good, but kind of felt like we could go a little bit further.
07:43I have really, like, no idea about rackets and string and all of that, and he can, like,
07:49on TV, he's like, oh, she's playing with this racket and that, and it's, like, he's insane.
07:55So I kind of just let him lead the charge and kind of give me options.
08:02And yeah, I mean, we just kind of tried a bunch of different things.
08:08I kind of fell in love pretty quickly, and I definitely think that I have a level of,
08:16I think, trust in things a little bit more with this racket.
08:20I feel like I'm able to kind of go for things a little bit more,
08:24but have the ability to be able to control them a little bit more.
08:28And I think one of the big things is, especially on the days where I'm not really feeling things,
08:33I felt like I have the ability to kind of manipulate things with my racket and my hands
08:39and kind of have a little bit more safety, where I was kind of struggling with that before.
08:46So I definitely think it's, you know, it's obviously a huge,
08:50been a huge benefit for me and has brought a lot more to my game.
08:54We've got time for four more.
08:55We'll go Mark, Tomaini, Courtney, Howard.
08:58Mark.
08:59Congratulations, Madison.
09:00I just want to take you back to the end of the second set, that lengthy toilet break.
09:04You're tapping the wrist of the chair umpire, seeing what was happening.
09:08Can you talk to me what was going through your mind in that moment?
09:11And do you think that those rules need to be tightened?
09:14No, I was just asking how much time she had left, because it wasn't up on the board.
09:19So I was just asking him how much longer it was her break.
09:22So, I mean, I think the rules are fine.
09:25I just, the clock ran out on my change, but not hers.
09:30So I was just asking.
09:33All right, Tomaini.
09:36You spoke earlier about trusting your work and trusting that it will pay off
09:40and not focus on the doubts.
09:42I'm curious, at what point in your career did you kind of come to that conclusion?
09:46And was there ever a point when, you know, you did focus too much on doubts,
09:51you were in your head too much, I guess?
09:54Um, I think it's, I think there's been, you know, moments in my career
10:01when things kind of just felt like they were kind of happening and things were easy.
10:04And you just kind of run with that momentum.
10:07And I think that's kind of the reality of the sport.
10:11It's really hard to just be on a high every single week.
10:16And I think it's the times when things aren't going your way
10:22that it's pretty easy for doubt to kind of creep in.
10:27And I think that the big focus for me this offseason was really just kind of buying into
10:37I'll try anything, I'll do anything, I'll be open.
10:42You know, I'm open to any and all changes.
10:45Let's just really go for it.
10:47Obviously, I'm at the later point of my career.
10:50So it just kind of felt like, why not, however many more years I have,
10:56be willing to adapt and be a little bit more open to change.
11:01And I think doing that is a little bit freeing because I think for a really long time,
11:08I felt like I was so close doing it the way, doing it a certain way.
11:14And I kind of just kept falling short.
11:16But in my head, it was if I just keep doing it that way, then maybe it'll happen.
11:20And I think I started to put a lot of pressure on myself within that.
11:25And I probably just got a little bit too rigid around
11:28not wanting to change because things were good enough or close and all of that.
11:34So I think really just buying into, let's just go for it and be open to change.
11:40And doing that, I think I kind of pushed myself to
11:48figure out kind of what I actually wanted.
11:51I think for a long time, I just picked something,
11:54picked up a racket and said, this is great and moved on.
11:57So I think there was kind of trying things and actually saying, do I like them?
12:03Do I not like them?
12:04Just gave me a better insight on what I actually like and what I wanted to do.
12:09And I think that kind of just built a little bit more self-trust.
12:12What made you want to change then?
12:16I think it was just, I think it kind of started last year where
12:21getting hurt earlier in the year and really kind of thinking,
12:26OK, maybe it's time to start messing with some things.
12:32And then after Wimbledon, it kind of was a little bit of a, oops, there goes my phone.
12:39I think it was a little bit of a come to Jesus moment where
12:43the way that I was doing things was putting way too much strain on my body.
12:47So I had to do something and I knew it was going to be really uncomfortable.
12:52And I was really not wanting to do that.
12:57But I think doing it in kind of the two step way that we did it helped a little bit.
13:02But I think I just finally got to the point where
13:07I bought in and became more comfortable with being
13:12uncomfortable and just felt like it had to happen.
13:16OK, Courtney, and then we'll finish with Howard.
13:19Do you feel as though you're playing with house money a little bit just because
13:24like last week you were saying, oh, I'm 30 and who knows, like I'm ripping up my game.
13:28I'm doing all these things a lot differently.
13:30I'm willing to take the risks like you just said, it's mining to go all in in a lot of ways.
13:35And today in the match, even in those tight moments, you were laughing at times smiling.
13:42We didn't normally see that sort of body language from you in those type moments in the past.
13:45So I'm just curious, like, yeah, is the mindset a little bit more like that?
13:49Like, let's just see how we go as opposed to matches or life and death.
13:53They maybe felt like I think that I've been doing a lot of
14:00a lot of personal work or work with all of that.
14:05Um, I think one of the big things.
14:10After I lost to Arena at the U.S. Open, I felt like I tried to play safe and I wasn't playing
14:19how I wanted to in the big moments, and that felt so bad.
14:24And I just felt like if I can go out and do what I want to do and really just
14:35again, be uncomfortable at times and just actually go for it and continue to play the way that
14:41I play my best tennis and I lose, then I can walk away and say,
14:46OK, I did my best. She beat me. That's fine.
14:48I didn't want to be in the same situation where I kind of looked back at it and thought,
14:55man, I should have gone for it.
14:57And I didn't want to have any regrets for not really laying it all out there.
15:02So that was kind of just my whole goal today was that no matter what, win or lose,
15:09I walked away and said I did what I wanted to do.
15:12I felt the game plan. I went for things when I should have gone for things.
15:19And I think that that kind of it was a little bit more freeing and I was able to kind of
15:27just kind of take in the moment a little bit better and stay a little bit more present
15:31instead of getting too wrapped into the emotional turmoil of I should have done this,
15:38I should have done that and just having a lot of regret.
15:41OK, last one, Howard.
15:45This might be somewhat connected to that answer and not to bring up another U.S. Open defeat.
15:52Guys.
15:53Oh, I'm wondering back eight years ago against Sloan in New York.
16:02How much have you either watched that match, thought about it, replayed it in your head at
16:08all? And are there ways in which that experience you think can be a benefit and help you
16:16take on what you're going to take on on Saturday?
16:19Yeah, I mean, I've obviously thought of that match endlessly for the past eight years,
16:26but I think I think during that match I was so consumed with being nervous and just the moment
16:36and the opportunity and all of that that I never really gave myself a chance to actually even play.
16:42And I think that I've done a lot of work trying to not get rid of nerves,
16:54because I think in the past in my head it was kind of always, you know, the people who play
16:58amazing in the tight moments, they either don't have nerves or they figure out how to get rid of
17:03them instead of being able to play tennis with them. And I think the big thing for me has just
17:12been knowing that there are going to be a lot of moments where I'm uncomfortable in the match.
17:17It's going to be stressful. You have thousands of people watching you. You might not be playing
17:23your best tennis, but instead of trying to shy away from that and search for settling or comfort
17:34or anything, just being okay that that's the situation and you can also play tennis through
17:39that, I think is something that I've been working really hard on. And I think that's probably one of
17:47the biggest lessons that I can take from that US Open final, and just be okay with knowing that
17:55I'm probably going to be uncomfortable 99% of the time that I'm on the court,
17:59and that's okay, and I can still also play tennis.