Madison Keys also defeated the demons of her past in the Australian Open final. Her coach was particularly helpful in this. He plays a special role.
Christoph Cöln reports from Melbourne
When the sensation was perfect, Madison Keys ran to her trainer’s box and hugged her coach. The American had just dethroned the defending champion, Aryna Sabalenka, at the Australian Open in a rousing and high-class final from start to finish. Now tears were streaming down her face. She hugged her trainer Bjorn Fratangelo tightly and he whispered something in her ear. Madison Keys kept nodding.
She had done it. But she would not have achieved the feat of wresting the year’s Grand Slam title from the world number one without the special care she enjoys. That’s what she said afterwards during the victory speech on the Center Court of the Rod Laver Arena. “My team believed in me when I didn’t believe in me anymore.” Fratangelo undoubtedly plays the main role in the team, as he is also Key’s husband.
Keys is an unlikely winner. She won her first major title ever in her career in Melbourne. The American, who was ranked 19th in the world before the tournament, is already 29 years old. Although she made people sit up and take notice with good results every now and then, very few experts expected that she would come to Melbourne in such incredible shape.
Coach stands on the sidelines with tears in his eyes
They themselves had been plagued by doubts, as she admitted. “Last year was so hard for me, I had some serious injuries and at times I no longer believed that I could win big tournaments again.”
In fact, she had found her form just in time for the first highlight of the tennis year. Just before the Australian Open, she triumphed at the Adelaide International. In Melbourne she impressed with her special resilience. No matter how tricky the game situations she found herself in, she always found a solution. Against every opponent – including against the favorite Sabalenka, who drove her to despair at times with her variable, powerful power play.
This also has to do with an unusual constellation in your team. Keys has been married to Bjorn Fratangelo since November 2024. “I would especially like to thank my husband, where is he?” she said on Center Court while holding the trophy. The outsider was so overwhelmed by her emotions that she became a little disoriented. The defeated Sabalenka helped her out and showed her which side of the court Fratangelo was on. He also had tears in his eyes.
She could also rely on him in the final. With the score at 4:4 in the third and decisive set, she threatened to get a break. Sabalenka had a strong phase, the Belarusian’s serves increasingly caused Keys problems. After hitting another return into the net, she went to the trainer’s box and looked at Fratangelo for help.
He made wild gestures. He tried to explain to his wife how she should accept Sabalenka’s serve and return the balls. Keys nodded. Then she went back to the baseline and won the match.
The 31-year-old Fratangelo was a tennis professional himself. He won the French Open against Dominic Thiem on the Junior Tour in 2011, but then his career stalled. He didn’t make it past a few main round appearances at Grand Slams and reached 304th place in the world rankings. As a coach, he is even more valuable. After her fourth-round victory over Jelena Rybakina, Madison Keys described how she benefits from her relationship with the American.