Keys faces Barty hurdle to enter Australian Open final

Madison Keys faces the biggest test of her resurgence when she meets Ash Barty in the Australian Open semifinals on Thursday, as the American aims to end the top seed’s bid to delight home fans by winning an elusive title. Keys, who reached the last-four in 2015, will play in her first Grand Slam semifinal […]

Madison Keys faces the biggest test of her resurgence when she meets Ash Barty in the Australian Open semifinals on Thursday, as the American aims to end the top seed’s bid to delight home fans by winning an elusive title.

Keys, who reached the last-four in 2015, will play in her first Grand Slam semifinal in four years having emerged from the “dark pit of despair” she had fallen into due to the pressure she put on herself to perform at the highest level.

“I know I’m going to feel nervous… excited. I know all of those feelings are going to be there,” Keys said of her previous semifinal appearances at majors.