Defending champion Keys returns to AO in the second round, Fernandez loses to Tjen – Tennis Now

By Richard Pagliaro Monday, January 19, 2026
Image source: Australian Open Facebook

Madison Keys Her electrifying performance to win her first Grand Slam title at the 2025 Australian Open moved some of her most loyal fans to tears.

A restless Keys soon found himself trailing 0-4 as he launched his AO title defense today at Rod Laver Arena.

Keys declined to throw a pity party, instead conveying the resolve of his supporters.

Keys saved two set points in the first deciding game and finally defeated the Ukrainian 7-6(6), 6-1 Oleksandra Olynikova Reached the AO second round for the 11th time in 12 games.

The match didn’t get off to an easy start, and it wasn’t always pretty – Keys lost her opening two service games and committed an error in the decider to fall behind 0-4 – but the ninth-seeded American found her forehand when she needed it most. Ultimately, Keys overcame a sluggish start to celebrate her 50th career Grand Slam main draw appearance with a wayward finish and her eighth consecutive AO victory.

Keys overcame nerves and a tough opponent to win an opening set that at times seemed out of reach.

“I’ve missed that moment for a year,” Case told Chanda Rubin in an on-court interview. “It’s unbelievable to be out on the court for the first time since I left it a year ago. It’s great to be back in Melbourne, obviously it was very nerve-wracking at the start. It’s great to be back.

“I love playing here. I was talking to Lindsay Davenport yesterday and she reminded me that not many people get to be the defending major champion. So, I just tried to embrace it and enjoy it, and even though I was nervous at first, I was really happy to be back and that I finished that tournament.”

Keys, 30, said the main goal this season is to find comfort in uncomfortable situations on the court. In that respect, she accomplished her mission in today’s return at Melbourne Park.

“One of my big goals this year is to force myself to be a little bit uncomfortable on the court and try to actually implement some of the things we’re doing and just be uncomfortable in those big moments,” Case said. “I’m really trying to push myself to improve and add more things to my game.

“That’s really been my goal all offseason, is to try and learn new things. Now the hardest part is getting them to actually compete.”

In her tour debut today, Olynikova was a disturbing opponent in one set.

Olynikova, ranked 92nd in the world, broke serve first and saved the break at 6-2 to lead 2-0.

A nervous Keys dropped serve in the third game as she struggled to control her powerful ground balls.

After 25 minutes of play, Oliynykova led 4-0 with a chance to score.

“I think my mind was actually clearer. I think when I was at 4-Love up, I started thinking more,” Olinikova said. “It’s normal when you have no experience, and there are so many people, you hear someone screaming my name, someone screaming her name. Then the atmosphere is great, but sometimes you start to think too much.

“When I started the game, I felt like everything was perfect. And then it occurred to me – I mean, this is
About my opponent, because she had a really good game and, at some points I thought I overplayed it because I had the advantage. If I had been more experienced, I don’t know if I would have been able to win, but I’m sure I would have been able to take advantage of it better. “

Olynikova led 40-15 in the sixth game, winning four consecutive game points to lead 5-1, but Keys fought back and took the lead. Keys broke serve for the first time in a tense nine-minute match, bringing the score to 2-4.

Keys started to find her range and used her heavy topspin forehand to take charge of baseline exchanges. Case scored eight of his 11 points to take a 5-4 lead for the fifth straight game.

After a stalemate at 5, Keys made three consecutive unforced errors to help Olynikova break serve, leading 30-15 and leading 6-5.

In the service game, Olynikova fell into three break points, but Keys fought back to force a decider.

The decider got off to a bad start, with Keys making a mistake on the court at the Laver Arena and trailing 4-0.

In those moments, you want to see Keys get a little dominant on her goal rather than playing so close to the baseline. Keys hits the ball with such force that she doesn’t need to actually touch the line to torment her opponent.

Despite trailing in the tie-break, Keys continued to work hard.

Olynikova held two set points at 6-4 and 6-5, but Keys got angry on her favored forehand.

Keys scored four consecutive winners to snatch a decider that seemed firmly in the Ukrainian’s hands and take a set lead.

That set lead made Keith’s right arm relax. Keys scored 9 of 10 first-serve points in the second set to take a 4-0 lead in the second set and never looked back.

The Happy Slam remains Keys’ happy place and she thanked her supportive fans who told her the title run brought them to tears of joy.

“I’ve had a lot of people come up to me and tell me winning makes them cry. I never thought I’d have that ability,” Case said. “I think it’s really cool that being an athlete can have such an impact on so many people. I’ve always tried to be open and honest about everything that goes on in the sport and do my best to humanize that part of the sport.

“I think for me, I feel like the biggest reward is that I was able to do that. I think in sports you rarely see that you have the ability to make people cry happy tears.”

The defending champions ended their second-round match against the United States within 100 minutes. Ashlyn Krueger.

Kruger broke serve five times and swept his opponent 6-3, 6-3. Sarah Bellec. This will be the first meeting between the two.

Keys, the 2017 U.S. Open finalist, has had a rocky start, while the 2021 Flushing Meadows finalist Leila Fernandez Fell down at the first obstacle.

In a battle of 23-year-old baseline attackers, Janice Jan She used a powerful forehand topspin to defeat No. 22 seed Fernandez 6-2, 7-6(1).

This is the first time since 2022 that Fernandez has been eliminated in the first round of AO. The left-handed Canadian would be wise to try and slice Tjen’s backhand into the net.

Tjen, a former standout at Pepperdine, quickly rounded her backhand and hit a heavy forehand. After losing his serve at 5-4, Jenn fired up his serve in the decider.

An inside-out forehand winner and a backhand pass gave Tjen a 3-0 lead on the break. Fernandez made his fifth double fault and fell behind 1-4.

On match point, Fernandez missed a running backhand, and Thien, who had broken serve four times, achieved her first AO victory.

World No. 59 Tjen, the pride of Indonesia, will face former world No. 1 Karolina Pliskova in the second round.

Pliskova defeated 2017 U.S. Open champion Sloane Stephens 7-6(7), 6-2 in a top-five clash on her comeback.

“Overall, this is one of my favorite places to play,” Pliskova said. “I worked really hard to come back. I’m here and I won the first round, so I’m happy.”