Amanda Anisimova got some sweet revenge on Wednesday at the U.S. Open.
Fifty-three days after the American was defeated 6-0, 6-0 by Poland’s Iga Swiatek in the Wimbledon final, the No. 8 seed avenged her loss with a 6-4, 6-3 defeat of second-seeded Swiatek to advance into the semifinals in New York.
“To come back from Wimbledon like that is truly special to me,” Anisimova said in her on-court interview. “I feel like I worked so hard to turn around from that, and today proved everything for me. I can do it.”
After a defeat where she appeared totally outmatched and became the first woman since 1988 to be double-bageled in a Grand Slam final, Anisimova was decidedly the better player this time around. She faced less than half as many break points (four to nine), had 10 more winners (23-13) and less unforced errors (12 to 15).
Neither player was particularly accurate on their first serve, with Anisimova hitting 56 percent of hers compared to Swiatek’s 50 percent. However, the American was far better on her second serve, winning 52 percent of her second serves while Swiatek won just 33 percent of hers.
After each player started the match by breaking the other’s serve, things remained level until Anisimova broke Swiatek at 5-4 to clinch the opening set.
She was again broken to begin the second set and fell behind 2-0, but responded in a big way, winning six of the seven ensuing games from there to clinch the match and knock out the second top-four seed in this year’s tournament.
“She’s one of the toughest players I’ve ever played. I knew that I was going to have to dig really deep,” Anisimova said. “It was such a fun match. I know the scoreline wasn’t three sets or anything, but it truly was a battle for me.”
With this victory, Anisimova is through to her second consecutive Grand Slam semifinal. Before this run, she had made just one semifinal and two quarterfinals in 24 major appearances.
She awaits the winner of Wednesday night’s quarterfinal between No. 11 Karolina Muchova of the Czech Republic and No. 23 seed Naomi Osaka of Japan, who knocked off third-seeded American Coco Gauff in the Round of 16.
In the other semifinal set for Thursday, No. 1 seed Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus — who is looking to win her third Grand Slam this year — faces No. 4 seed Jessica Pegula, who is looking to make her second consecutive appearance in the U.S. Open final.
–Field Level Media
