The Madison Keys who will play two-time defending champion Aryna Sabalenka for the title at the Australian Open on Saturday night is not the same Madison Keys who was the runner-up at the U.S. Open back in 2017,

But that could well change on Saturday, when Keys will take on two-time defending Australian Open champion Sabalenka in her second slam final having produced a stunning upset of Iga Swiatek. She is confident she has learned from her US Open experience, saying with a smile: “I’ve obviously thought of that match endlessly for the past eight years.

It has been over seven years since Madison Keys crushed CoCo Vandeweghe in the 2017 US Open semifinal. Sloane Stephens defeated her close friend in the final, and it seemed like Keys might never get another opportunity to play in a Grand Slam final after suffering some heartbreaking moments in the years that followed.