More than an hour into her first appearance in the semi-finals of the US Open, Amanda Anisimova still could not find the court. Under suffocating pressure on one of the most significant occasions of her career, unforced errors sprayed indiscriminately from her racket and she unloaded her considerable frustration on her support team.
After all that she has been through on and off the court, however, Anisimova did not reach this stage just to fall apart. From her desperate start, Anisimova gave an exhibition of her growing mental toughness as she emerged from a bruising, tension-filled battle around 1am with a 6-7 (4), 7-6 (3), 6-3 win over Naomi Osaka after two hours, 56 minutes to reach the final of the US Open for the first time in her career.
One day after putting together the best victory of her career, avenging her Wimbledon vanquisher, the six-time grand slam champion Iga Swiatek, Anisimova followed it up with another monumental victory over another multiple-grand slam champion to reach her second consecutive grand slam final. She will next face Aryna Sabalenka, the world No 1 and defending champion, who reached her third consecutive final in New York with a stellar 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 win over Jessica Pegula.
Even during her struggles early in the match, Anisimova was in complete control of the baseline throughout, punishing Osaka’s second serve at every opportunity and constantly rushing the Japanese with her brand of devastating first-strike tennis. As she found greater rhythm with her strokes, Anisimova’s superior ball striking and composure guided her through. “It means the world,” said Anisimova. “I’m trying to process that right now, it’s just absolutely a dream come true. This has been a dream of mine forever, to be in the US Open final. Obviously the hope is to be the champion.”
In many ways, Osaka and Anisimova are kindred spirits. Although their respective journeys have been unique, both players have spoken openly about their mental health struggles and they have repeatedly expressed admiration for one another. It was fitting that they both found themselves face-to-face inside Arthur Ashe Stadium on such a big occasion.
“Naomi is playing amazing tennis,” said Anisimova. “She’s back where she belongs. I told her I am so proud of her after having a baby and playing at this level, it’s insane. She was really giving me a run for the final. I wasn’t sure I’d make it past the finish line, I tried to dig deep and it was a huge fight out there today.”
Anisimova and Osaka hug over the net at the end of the match. Photograph: Mike Segar/Reuters
By overcoming the odds in her spectacular revenge win over Swiatek on Thursday, Anisimova placed herself in a new position as the higher-ranked player with a grand slam final on the line. She clearly felt the pressure from the beginning, opening the match with a flurry of wild, tense unforced errors.
While Osaka served well under pressure and remained solid enough to take advantage of Anisimova’s erratic play, she was clearly unsettled by the lack of rhythm provided by Anisimova. It was not until deep in the second set that the tide slowly began to change as Anisimova gradually found her range on her ground strokes. She laid waste to the Osaka second serve throughout the set and the vast majority of baseline exchanges were decided by her racket. Although Anisimova failed to serve out the set at 5-4, by the second set tie-break her game was in full flow. She completely overpowered Osaka in a sublime tie-break to force a final set.
Anisimova had been so agitated for much of the match that at one point her coach, Rick Vleeshouwers, instructed her to stop complaining. By the end of the second set, though, it was Osaka whose shoulders had slumped and she repeatedly gestured her dismay to her player box. She had no response for Anisimova, who was in full flow by the final set, smothering Osaka with her ball speed, early shotmaking and sharp direction changes. In the tense final game, Anisimova brilliantly held her nerve to see the match through.
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“I just tried to stay positive and there’s a lot of nerves in the beginning,” said Anisimova. “That’s something I’m trying to work on. This tournament means so much to me, I think that was really getting to me. And in the end, I was just like ‘Just try and fight your way through’ and I was trying to enjoy the moment. I think we were both playing some amazing tennis, I was just like: ‘How are we making these shots?’ But we were, and we kept on going.”
Seven weeks ago, as Anisimova’s breakthrough Wimbledon run ended with her excruciating 6-0, 6-0 defeat to Swiatek, the biggest question surrounding the American was just how much such a devastating experience would damage her psyche and set her back. It is difficult to imagine that any player could have handled this situation better. She sought out therapy, she has remained positive at all costs and at the very next major event, after already avenging that defeat, Anisimova has given herself another opportunity to compete for her first grand slam title.
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