Be Brave. That's What Madison Keys Kept Telling Herself On The Way To Winning The Australian Open

Be brave.

Go for it.

Those were the mantras Madison Keys turned to as she confronted the most significant points of her tennis career, trapped in the cauldron of a third set that was tied at 5-all, 30-all in the Australian Open final against two-time defending champion Aryna Sabalenka on Saturday.

No reason to be anything but aggressive now, Keys thought. No reason to try to wish there weren't nerves accompanying the moment. No reason to worry - as the American long did along the journey from prodigy at age 12 to major champion less than a month before her 30th birthday - about what would happen if things didn't quite work out.

"I just kept saying, 'Be brave.' And, 'Go for it.' I kind of just kept repeating that. That was really my goal for the day - to just be proud, no matter a win or a loss," Keys said in an interview with The Associated Press after winning her first Grand Slam title with a 6-3, 2-6, 7-5 victory over the No. 1-ranked Sabalenka in Rod Laver Arena.