New York (AFP) – Amanda Anisimova will be aiming for revenge over Iga Swiatek in the US Open quarter-finals on Wednesday, two months after suffering a disastrous double-bagel defeat to the Polish star in the Wimbledon final. The business end of the season’s final Grand Slam has offered Anisimova the chance of redemption at Flushing Meadows with her 6-0, 6-0 Wimbledon drubbing still fresh in the memory. That defeat was only the third time a Grand Slam singles final has ended in a dreaded double-bagel.
Second seed Swiatek entered the US Open as the bookmakers’ favourite, after she followed up her maiden Wimbledon title with victory at the Cincinnati Open WTA 1000 event. The 24-year-old six-time Grand Slam champion has moved smoothly into the last eight in New York, dispatching Russian 13th seed Ekaterina Alexandrova 6-3, 6-1 in Monday’s fourth round. Anisimova meanwhile advanced to Wednesday’s quarter-final with a lopsided 6-0, 6-3 defeat of Brazil’s Beatriz Haddad Maia, a win that left her in a positive mood as she looked ahead to her rematch with Swiatek.
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“At this stage of the game you’re going to play a really tough opponent regardless,” Anisimova said. “So to be able to have a rematch or to be able to face her again and give myself another chance, I’m really, really happy about that. It’s going to be a really tough challenge, but I feel like I’ve been playing well. I hope I can put on a good performance.”
Wednesday’s other women’s quarter-final sees two-time US Open champion Naomi Osaka look to take down 11th-seeded Czech Karolina Muchova. Japanese star Osaka is enjoying her deepest run at a Grand Slam since returning to tennis after the birth of her daughter in 2023 and looked close to her best form in a confident 6-3, 6-2 defeat of third seed Coco Gauff on Monday.
– ‘AI-generated’ Sinner –
In the two men’s quarter-finals on Wednesday, Italy’s Lorenzo Musetti has the unenviable task of trying to halt compatriot Jannik Sinner’s serene progress towards a successful defence of his US Open title. Musetti, the 10th seed, has lost both of his previous meetings against Sinner, who executed an awe-inspiring drubbing of big-serving Alexander Bublik on Monday to reach the last eight. Bublik, who described Sinner as “like an AI-generated player”, was obliterated 6-1, 6-1, 6-1 in a near-flawless performance from the reigning champion.
Musetti is under no illusions about the scale of the task facing him in the quarter-finals. “He’s the best player in the world, so I guess that’s the biggest challenge that we have in our sport,” Musetti said of Sinner. “That’s what drives me really crazy, the idea to try to break this amazing run that he’s been doing.”
Wednesday’s other men’s quarter-final pits in-form Australian eighth seed Alex de Minaur against Canada’s Felix Auger-Aliassime. De Minaur has lost all of the five Grand Slam singles quarter-finals he has played before and is determined to break his duck against the 25th seed. “It’s about embracing it, right? This is my sixth quarter-final, so I’ve got some experience,” De Minaur said. “I know what to expect, and the mindset going forward is going to be going for it. There’s no holding back.”
© 2024 AFP
