Madison Keys burst into tears during her post-match press conference at the US Open following a difficult defeat in the semi-finals.

Seventeenth seed Keys was having a dream run at the last Grand Slam of the year in New York. The American ousted fourteenth seed Liudmila Samsonova in the third round 5-7, 6-2, 6-2, before downing third seed Jessica Pegula and ninth seed Marketa Vondrousova in straight sets.

As Keys moved through the tournament, it looked as though she might make the final of the US Open for the first time since 2017 when she finished as runner-up to compatriot Sloane Stephens. Unfortunately for her, though, it was ultimately not to be.

The 28-year-old faced second seed Aryna Sabalenka in the semi-finals. Although the Belarusian was the favorite to win the clash, Keys got off to a tremendous start, winning the first set 6-0 with the support of the crowd at Flushing Meadows firmly behind her.

However, things took a turn for the worse in the second set as Sabalenka started to fight back hard. Keys still played well though, and the battle for the set went to a tiebreak which she lost 1-7.

The match then went to a decider which turned into another tiebreak. Keys got more points on the board in this one, but it wasn't enough to topple Sabalenka, and the Australian Open champion won the match 0-6, 7-6 (1), 7-6 (5).

In her post-match press conference, Keys spoke of her disappointment.

"I think everyone at the start of the tournament would obviously be really, really excited to be in the semis. Right now it sucks," she said while visibly holding back tears.

Although the American burst into tears as she spoke, Keys emphasized that there were still a lot of positives to take from her match.

"Yeah, I just think being able to, you know, take this and turn it into a positive is really possible, and... [pauses to fight back tears], Yeah, there's a lot to be proud of and still tons of tennis to play this season," she concluded.