New York (AFP) – American eighth seed Amanda Anisimova produced a stunning upset of Iga Swiatek to reach the semi-finals of the US Open on Wednesday and avenge her Wimbledon final drubbing. Anisimova — who suffered a crushing 6-0, 6-0 defeat as Swiatek clinched her first Wimbledon title in July — bounced back from that double-bagel disaster to win 6-4, 6-3 on the Arthur Ashe Stadium court.
Polish second seed Swiatek entered the US Open as the bookmakers’ favourite after following up her triumph at Wimbledon with victory in the WTA Cincinnati Open event last month. But the six-time Grand Slam champion’s hopes of adding a second US Open title to her collection were dashed as Anisimova roared to a redemptive victory in an absorbing one hour 36-minute battle.
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“To come back from Wimbledon like that is really special to me,” said Anisimova, who clinched victory in the second set after a net cord bounced in her favour on match point. “I feel like I worked so hard to turn it around after that… I knew I was going to have to dig really deep. It was such a tough match, truly a battle for me,” added the American, whose lopsided loss at Wimbledon was only the third Grand Slam final in history where a player had lost without winning a game.
Swiatek said her defeat was down to her struggles on her service game, where she managed only a 50% success rate on first serve and won just 10 of 30 points on second serve. “I couldn’t win today’s match playing like that, serving like that, and with Amanda being so aggressive on the returns,” she said, adding that Anisimova’s performance contrasted sharply with her Wimbledon display. “It was totally different,” Swiatek said. “She moved better, she played better. Everything was different.”
– Ominous start –
Wednesday’s quarter-final had started ominously for Anisimova, with the American being broken in the first game of the opening set to give Swiatek the early initiative. But Anisimova responded immediately to break and get it back on serve. Anisimova was under pressure though in the fifth game, finding herself two break points down at 15-40. She dug herself out of that hole to hold for a 3-2 lead.
The breakthrough came in the 10th game when Swiatek’s shaky serve once again left her in trouble at 15-40 down, giving Anisimova two set points. Swiatek saved the first, but then slashed a wild forehand long to the back of the court, allowing Anisimova to take a one-set lead.
Swiatek attempted to regroup in the second set and got an early break before opening up a 2-0 lead. But Anisimova once again exploited Swiatek’s weakness on serve to break back. Another net cord in Anisimova’s favour gave her a 4-3 lead, and then Swiatek double-faulted on break point, leaving her opponent serving for the match.
Anisimova raced to 40-0 to take three match points, and although Swiatek saved the first two, the tennis gods were clearly on her rival’s side as another net cord bounced just out of Swiatek’s reach to seal victory. The 24-year-old Anisimova will play two-time former US Open champion Naomi Osaka or Czech 11th seed Karolina Muchova on Thursday for a place in the final.
© 2024 AFP
