Aryna Sabalenka came back from one set down to beat Maddison Keys in the US Open semi-final. The Belarusian needed all of her fighting spirit as she was on the ropes for the majority of the match. What made Sabalenka’s semi-final victory even more unforgettable was the spontaneous burst of song from a Belarusian commentator when she secured the win, capturing the moment’s sheer magnitude.
Sabalenka was served a bagel in the first set and looked to be down and out for the majority of the match but the 25 year old fought back to win the next two sets and break American hearts. The new world number play is set to play America’s Coco Gauff in the showpiece event in the final of the US Open.
Aryna Sabalenka has the eye of the tiger
Aryna Sabalenka was on the ropes from the very beginning against Maddison Keys. The American won the first set 6-0, serving Sabalenka a bagel and the Belarusian seemed to be struggling. However, the 25 year old went on to win the next two sets 7-6, 7-6 to complete a hard-fought comeback win. The world number one will play her first final at the US Open and face the American favorite Coco Gauff.
Sabalenka’s thrilling comeback victory was covered by Belarusian television as well and video of that has went viral on social media. The commentator can be heard singing the iconic ‘Eye of the tiger‘ song from the movie ‘Rocky’ live on air after Sabalenka sealed a memorable win.
The video justifies the emotions felt by the crowd during Sabalenka’s thrilling win. The Belarusian looked down and out, however she managed to mount a memorable comeback which led to the commentator bursting out into a song to celebrate a magical night for Belarus.
Sabalenka hails a ‘magical night’
Speaking to the press after the game, Aryna Sabalenka admitted that she was all over the place in the first two sets and therefore, just tried to stay in the game. Additionally, the 25 year old said that it was a magical night for her to come back from such a position to go through to another Grand Slam final.
The Belarusian has confessed she was motivating herself throughout the game by remembering all the tough matches she has won and that kept her rhythm going.
“Yeah, it was crazy. I was all over the place. I was just, like, what can I do? Like, she’s playing unbelievable, just, like, crushing everything. I’m not able to do anything, like, I had zero control in the match. Obviously I was keep reminding myself that I lost a lot of tough matches. I mean, one day all those matches should just, like, help me somehow too.
“I just have to keep fighting, keep trying to find my rhythm, my game, just find myself and magically I finally found the game, and I was able to turn around this match and to get this win.”
Aryna Sabalenka’s victory in the US Open semifinals was nothing short of extraordinary. The match looked beyond her before she mounted a comeback and therefore a Belarusian commentator spontaneously sang a song to celebrate her triumph. Sabalenka’s impressive comeback, fueled by her unwavering determination has allowed her to set-up a mouth-watering final against Coco Gauff.
