Before Tuesday, Amanda Anisimova had not made any progress past the Wimbledon quarterfinals. That’s not the case anymore. Anishimova has made it to the semi-finals after a 6-1, 7-6 victory over Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova on Tuesday.
This was the dominant performance early on in Anisimova, where Pavlyuchenkova was able to run only one game in the first set.
Things weren’t that easy in the second set. Despite taking a strong lead, Anishimova struggled to drive out Pavlyuchenkova. A late rally by Pavlyuchenkova made it 5-5 in the second set. After two traded games, the second set became a tiebreaker.
In the tiebreak that lasted 20 points, Anishimoba was the one who ultimately came out on the top thanks to the ultimate winner.
Anisimova’s serve was a major weapon during the match, with six aces and 26 winners.
This victory shows the advancement of Anishimova, the most distant Wimbledon in her career. She previously arrived in the quarterfinals in 2022, where she was defeated by Simona Halep. This victory also coincides with Anishimova’s best performance in the Grand Slam. The only time she reached the semi-finals was at the 2019 French Open, where she lost to Ashley Bertie.
If Anishimova wants to reach a new career in the Grand Slams, she will have to pass through Arena Sabalenka, the number one female player who returned to defeat Laura Sigemundo on Tuesday.
Sabalenka proves to be an Anisimova step up, but Americans actually have a record of advantage. Anisimova went 5-3 against Sabalenka in eight games. One of these victories came during Anisimova’s run to the 2019 French Open semi-finals.
Anisomova dominated these matches early in her career, starting 4-0 against Sabalenka. However, the female No. 1 recently flipped the script over, moving on to 3-1 in four of the best matches. The two last squared off at the French Open in 2025, when Sabalenka defeated Anishimoba in a straight set.
If Anisomova could keep her momentum going, she could have been the first American woman to win the event since Serena Williams in 2016.
