Madison Keys of the United States, left, is congratulated by Petra Kvitova of the Czech Republic, right, after their semifinal match at the Brisbane International
Madison Keys came from a break and set down to beat two-time Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova in the Brisbane International semifinals on Saturday.
The American won nine of 10 games in her mid-match recovery against the tournament's 2011 champion to beat Kvitova 3-6, 6-2, 6-3.
"Petra was playing really well, and I felt like I had chances to be in the match but didn't really close on those opportunities," Keys said.
"I feel like the momentum kind of kept going back and forth, but I was able to get a little bit of confidence and feel like I could work my way back into the second set. I had a quick break at the start of the third, which also helped me feel like just carry on that momentum and confidence."
Keys will play Australian Open champion Naomi Osaka or defending Brisbane champion Karolina Pliskova in Sunday afternoon's final.
"I think Petra and I always have super long competitive matches," Keys continued, "so it's always great to be able to come out from those matches, and not only just for this tournament, but just to be able to have a lot of great matches right off the start going into the new season.
"I think in the third set it was a little bit back and forth. I think we were both returning really well, so it actually, the return games were actually very competitive. I think from getting broken in the second set on I think I played a pretty high level."
