New York (AFP) – Amanda Anisimova, runner-up at the 2025 US Open, fell Saturday in the third round to Anastasia Potapova, who capitalized on a flood of unforced errors from the American. Potapova, seeded 24th, topped the 10th-seeded Anisimova 6-2, 7-5.
Anisimova enjoyed a sterling 2025, also reaching the final of Wimbledon and winning two prestigious tour events, but she has struggled to approach her level from last year. Potapova took full advantage of 46 unforced errors from Anisimova, who had already been pushed hard in her second-round win over another Austrian, Lilli Tagger.
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Potapova, who was born in Russia but now plays for Austria, will next face either fifth-seeded reigning French Open champion Mirra Andreeva, a 6-2, 7-6 (7/5) winner over Czech Nikola Bartunkova. An emotional player, Potapova lost her cool in the last game after the umpire shrugged off an appeal when she missed a ball that took an odd hop.
But she collected herself to reel off four straight points, sealing the match on another Anisimova error. “I’m a little bit crazy but in a good way,” Potapova said.
Anisimova described her overall Grand Slam season as “average.” She reached the quarter-finals of the Australian Open, but was sidelined much of the spring with a left wrist injury. She returned to the tour at the French Open, losing in the third round, the same stage she fell at Wimbledon.
“It’s probably something that I’m going to have to reflect on and process,” she said when asked why she lost. “But I think right now is too soon to have an answer for that. I think.”
© 2024 AFP
