NEW YORK – When she woke up 53 days before the morning of the Wimbledon Finals, Amanda Anishimova knew something was off. Perhaps it was nerves. Maybe it’s fatigue after she’s deeper than she’s ever had in the Grand Slam. Either way, when Anishimova warmed up for the most important match of her career, she couldn’t hit more than a few balls without needing a break.
The resulting 6-0, 6-0 Iga Swiatek was the worst nightmare for a tennis player. On the biggest stage of the sport, she was completely frozen.
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So imagine that she must have felt she was on the court on Wednesday for the US Open Quarter Final against the same opponent who seemed ready to win her seventh major title throughout the hard court season and was ready to win her seventh major title here.
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Certainly, Anisimova was long enough to know that the two tennis matches were never the same. Different courts, different balls, different atmospheres, different wagers. But for humans, not 24 years old, who has experienced some of the things that Anishimova has experienced, he does not disappoint the presence of scar tissue against everything we all experience.
“It’s going to happen,” she said. “I’m a human.”
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Anishimova’s embarrassment in London has transformed it into a New York victory and perhaps the best of her career. By turning the second seed Swiatek, 6-4, 6-3 tables, Anisimova gave the US open cicada location and the ultimate Grand Slam redemption chance.
“Today is the most meaningful victory of my life,” she said. “I believe to myself that I can play at the top level and go head-on with the top (player). I have shown it, and I have been able to prove it to myself.”
The truth is, if you could simply erase what happened at Wimbledon from everyone’s memories, the results on Wednesday would not be so surprising.
After taking a mental health break from tennis in 2023, Anishimoba slowly became one of the best players in the world after accumulating burnout before the US opened five years ago and the emotional cost of his father’s sudden death.
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Especially on fast, hard courts, her backhand – the flat pan shot that makes the sweetest pounding noise when it falls off her racket – makes her a threat to beat anyone.
Swiatek knew that too. However, unlike that day at Wimbledon, she felt she had nothing to need to keep the ball on the court, so she was hoping for this challenge.
“I think everyone knows how Amanda can play,” Sweet said. “Yeah, she wasn’t playing well at Wimbledon, but she doesn’t intend to make the same mistakes or feel the same way all the time.
Amanda Anishimoba (R) and Iga Switek embrace after Anishimoba won the women’s singles quarter-final match. (Photo by Timothy A. Clary/AFP: AFP by Getty Images)
(Timothy A. Clary via Getty Images)
“It was totally different, but that’s not a surprise. I practice with her. I know how she can play. She moved better, she played better.
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Still, the match began with horror for the crowd at Arthur Ash Stadium, who were familiar with recent history. SwiaTek straightened out Anishimova’s serve with a series of pervasive returns, where a wave of nerve muttering echoing through 23,771 seats. Were they trying to see another whitewash?
However, when Anishimova quickly broke, and the second second of Swietek returned to her feet, it was as if everyone in the place had a breath – including Anishimova herself.
“When I couldn’t hold that first game, I was like, ‘OK, I’m going here,'” she said. “It was a bit stressful, but winning that first game certainly took some stress from my shoulders and I don’t think I was interested in the game. I wasn’t worried about it. I knew I was going to play good tennis.
From there, Anishimoba was simply a better player. She served more effectively, was able to rush Swie-Tek from the baseline to draw mistakes, embracing her nerves at every little moment when champions like Swie-Tek usually raided.
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In fact, this time it was Swiatek who clearly felt more pressure. 3-4, 30-All, Anisimova looked closely at the second serve and leaned over it, running through the middle of the court as Swiatek responded and didn’t have time to hit a full shot.
Then, at a breakpoint, Swiatek’s second serve landed in the middle of the net and handed the opening to Anishimoba a while before finishing the match.
Anisimova’s response at match points was muted and he clipped the tape with a backhand and dribbled it to win, bouncing back twice before full-out Swiatek got the racket. However, as Anishimova walked towards the microphone for an on-court interview, it was impossible to consider that her smile lined up the tears she wiped away when she held the runner-up trophy at the All-England Club in July.
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“The most important part of today was lifting yourself up and getting yourself up with positive affirmations. I think that was something that was really lacking in the Wimbledon final,” she said. “I didn’t show much. My attitude and presence was really not there. I felt there (today) was good and supported myself.
Such a massive shift from Wimbledon seemed surreal, but that was also what made tennis such a compelling theatre. Every week, all but one player is defeated away from the tournament. Having a lasting career in sports is not an option to leave embarrassment or regret.
Anishimova is now mature enough to endure it well.
She played her first major when she was 15 years old. This is an American-born genius who followed the blueprint that Russian immigrant parents launched Maria Sharapova into stardom.
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When Anisimova reached the French Open semifinals at the age of 17, the future title looked like her fate. Later, when she began establishing herself on tour, her father almost died of a heart attack at the age of 52.
Until now, Anishimova has taken to mature into a young woman who can handle what happened and reach her potential as one of the best tennis players in the world.
Now it seems she can handle anything the game brings, but including a big silver trophy on Saturday night would not be a surprise anymore.
