The heat had taken its toll, sapping the strength of a crowd prepared for disappointment. Court 17 had fallen silent, briefly interrupted by half-hearted cheers, revealing how little belief was left in Madison Keys as she faced match point, down two breaks and returning serve.

Anna Bondar then secured a second match point, then a third, and a fourth, and a fifth.

The crowd grew louder each time, gaining confidence that the American fan favorite would not crack, not after everything they had gone through together.

Finally, after nearly three hours of thrilling and emotional play, Keys completed the miracle comeback, earning a 5-7, 6-4, 7-6 (5) win to advance to the third round of the U.S. Open, where she will face China’s Qinwen Zheng.

“Yeah, that was something, huh?” Keys said, breaking into laughter after the match. “No stress, though. We all knew I had it, right?”

It was the fifth time since the start of 2025 Keys had won a match after facing a match point.

It was the first time she had ever done so at the U.S. Open, where she made her Grand Slam debut as a 16-year-old in 2011.

“I think today, it was really just trying to remind myself that the match wasn’t over yet and there was still another point to be played,” Keys said. “This court is absolutely amazing, and just to be able to play here all these years and get to be in front of these fans over and over and over again, it’s just the greatest gift in the world, and I’m so happy.”

Minutes earlier, with Keys trailing 5-2 in the final set, it was impossible to imagine the former U.S. Open finalist smiling so wide.

A little bit of magic began with a little bit of luck.

On the first match point, Bondar sailed her second serve long. On the next, she double-faulted again.

On the third match point, Keys charged forward for a forehand and badly mis-hit the ball, which collided with the frame of her racket, yet somehow landed for a winner, prompting Keys to roll her eyes.

“I hit everything but the strings,” Keys said.

Keys blasted two forehands to save the final two match points — the penultimate one scraping the baseline — en route to winning three straight games. In the deciding tiebreaker, Keys fell behind 5-3, but the former Australian Open champion quickly erased any remaining doubt, closing the match by winning the final seven points.

As the stadium erupted — plus fans looking overhead from the top row of nearby Court 12 — Keys screamed, too, pumping her fist multiple times, then holding her face, trying to process what had just happened.

“You guys got me through that match, and I’m so grateful,” Keys said to the fans during her on-court interview. “I love playing here. It literally gives me chills.”