In a high-quality contest, only a few points separated the players, Radwanska breaking in the final game before calmly serving out for a 7-6(3), 3-6, 6-3 victory.
Since reaching the semifinals at the Australian Open 18 months ago, Radwanska has struggled to make an impression at the majors and was unable to conceal her relief during her post-match interview.
"I couldn't feel any better, I'm just so happy I managed to stay in that match. It was very tight and I just tried to play it point by point, game by game," Radwanska said. "That's how you have to play it and in the third set one break was the difference."
The Pole played some typically imaginative tennis at times, including one wonderfully disguised dink in the decisive eighth game of the final set. "There were a lot of good rallies, a lot of good shots - she's a very talented, powerful player and I knew it was going to be very tough today."
Taking on one of the game's most ferocious ball strikers, Radwanska wisely elected against battling it out from the back of the court. It was a decision that paid dividends, as Keys contributed to her own downfall with 40 unforced errors.
The pivotal moment of the match came when Keys, serving at 4-3 down in the final set, allowed a floating backhand to drop in. She exacerbated this mistake by double-faulting and then netting a forehand to surrender the break.
Radwanska's challenge in the semifinals will be to defuse the powerful game of another bright young talent, Garbiñe Muguruza.
"I've seen a few of her matches this tournament and she's playing great tennis. She's actually playing very similar to Keys so I think it could be a similar match.
"It's the semifinals so, of course, there's nothing to lose. All the players are playing great tennis. I'm just going to fight for each point and try to play my best. One day's rest and I'll be ready to go."
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