At this Australian Open, in the same Slam she first made the semi-final a decade ago as a teen prodigy, the American went about filling it with champion-like mindset, game and poise. And came out a Grand Slam winner. At age 29.

Never too late for an upgrade.

Once she did complete it, beating two-time defending champion Aryna Sabalenka 6-3, 2-6, 7-5 in a cracking big-hitting finale, Keys wore a look of disbelief. In tears, she walked across to the courtside coaching pod and embraced her team. In tears, a racquet-smashing Sabalenka tucked her head under the towel. Pictures of contrast that only sport can play out.

Storylines of contrast have played out in women’s tennis in the past decade — of qualifiers and teen sensations turning champions, of one-Slam wonders, of multiple-time winners chasing further glory. In her 46th main draw appearance (third most for a first-time winner), after falling short in one final and five semi-finals across the decade, Keys can finally call herself a Grand Slam champion. How’s that for a story?

“I have wanted this for so long,” Keys said in her on-court speech, new to this stage as the fourth-oldest first-time major winner. “I didn’t know if I was ever going to get back to this position to try to win a trophy again.”

Those doubts only intensified over the last year-and-a-half, after she had imploded against Sabalenka in the 2023 US Open semi-final and didn’t turn up for the 2024 Australian Open. An injured shoulder kept her away, before an injured hamstring made her retire from the Wimbledon fourth round. Compelled to end her season early, Keys squeezed in her wedding with coach and now husband, Bjorn Fratangelo. “Best honeymoon ever. This is perfect,” said Keys.

Not that her tennis was on a prolonged holiday. The frequent breakdowns to an ageing body demanded some changes. Not easy for a player who had been among the most consistent on tour with a fair degree of success — a nine-time WTA titlist, Keys ended every season from 2015 to 2020 in the top 20 with a career-high ranking of 7. Yet the American took the punt and changed her racquet and service motion, the latter being the root cause of her physical troubles.

The tweaks took some time to warm up towards the end of last year but on the bright blue hard courts of Melbourne Park, they made her dazzle.

It was fitting that Keys put the hammer down on match point in the final, blasting a forehand winner. That big-hitting ability to go with the smooth serving took down a line of quality opponents: Danielle Collins (10th seed), Elena Rybakina (6th), Elina Svitolina (28th) and Iga Swiatek (2nd). Keys wouldn’t be deterred to go for her shots, not when she was a set down against Elena-Gabriela Ruse in Round 2 or match point down against Swiatek in the semi-final.

Not even on Saturday, despite three-time finalist Sabalenka flaunting as much, if not more, power across the net. The world No.1’s nervy, double fault littered start helped Keys, who was still helping herself to some delightful winners and gritty defence. In no time, Keys was up 4-1 with everything working for her. Even a drop shot that kissed the net and fell across. Sabalenka, out-hit through the set, smiled.

She wasn’t going to be pushed over, though. The Belarusian paused for a toilet break and came out changing tactics. She began hitting more drop shots, finding her groove from the baseline and also using her slices to disrupt Keys’s hitting rhythm. Add some big return winners to it and Sabalenka got more ammunition to break Keys’s faltering second serves twice in the set where momentum swung drastically.

It regained balance in the decider, with both players serving strong for 5-5. Then, in a high-pressure hold, Keys produced two breathtaking forehand winners. Moments later, in a high-pressure match point after Sabalenka was under the pump on her serve, Keys delivered another to go where she had never been before.

As a fast-rising teen, Keys was always looked at in American tennis as someone who would get there. She sensed it, and carried it with her through all those seasons of being nearly there often and far away the other times. Getting that Slam may still have remained a goal but what flipped it, incidentally, was to quit thinking about it. Therapy is helping.

“From a pretty young age, I felt like if I never won a Grand Slam, then I wouldn’t have lived up to what people thought I should have been. That was a pretty heavy burden to kind of carry around,” Keys said.

“So, I finally got to the point where I was proud of myself and proud of my career, with or without a Grand Slam.”

With a Grand Slam it is.