Amanda Anisimova is one win away from completing a remarkable tale of redemption after battling back from a set down to beat Naomi Osaka in a thrilling late-night US Open semi-final.
The 24-year-old from the United States suffered humiliation at Wimbledon in July when she was on the wrong end of the first 6-0, 6-0 scoreline in an All England Club women’s singles final since 1911. On Wednesday she avenged that defeat by knocking out Iga Swiatek, the world No2, in the quarter-finals at Flushing Meadows.
A day later, Anisimova backed up that fine win with a hard-fought 6-7 (4-7), 7-6 (7-3), 6-3 victory over Osaka, the four-times grand-slam champion from Japan. The win gives her a shot at redemption in Saturday’s final, where she will face world No1 Aryna Sabalenka, and makes her the youngest player to reach consecutive finals at Wimbledon and the US Open since Serena and Venus Williams, then aged 20 and 22 respectively, in 2002.
By reaching her first US Open final, Anisimova will reach a career-high world ranking of No4
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“It [reaching the US Open final] means the world,” Anisimova said. “I’m trying to process that right now, but it’s a dream come true. The hope is to be the champion but I’m in the final now and I’m excited.”
Anisimova, the No8 seed, struggled for rhythm early in the match and lost the opening set in a tie-break, during which there was a brief malfunction with the electronic line-calling system. Memories of the issues at Wimbledon came flooding back when Osaka, leading 6-3 at the time, hit a groundstroke and a premature call of “out” was made before the ball had bounced. A video review followed, and the umpire correctly awarded the point to Anisimova as the ball had gone on to land out anyway
Despite defeat, Osaka climbs back into the top 15 in the rankings since January 2022
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“The electronic line-calling live system made an errant call,” a US Open statement said. “Upon reviewing the point, the chair umpire and the review official determined that Osaka’s shot was long and that the timing of the errant call did not impact the point. As a result, Anisimova was awarded the point.”
Both players struggled on serve in the second set, but Anisimova hung on to level the match at one set all with some aggressive ball striking. At 12:54am she prevailed in the deciding set to reach a first US Open final and secure a new career-high world ranking of No4, while Osaka will receive some consolation in the fact she is now back in the top 15 for the first time since January 2022 at No14.
Sabalenka will have a third shot at winning a grand-slam title this season after defeats in the final at the Australian Open and French Open
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“Naomi is playing amazing tennis,” Anisimova said. “She’s back where she belongs. I told her that I’m so proud of her after having a baby [in 2023] 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.”
Sabalenka also recovered from a set down to see off Jessica Pegula, the No4 seed from the United States, 4-6, 6-3, 6-4, sealing a third shot at winning a grand-slam title this year after defeats in the Australian Open and French Open finals.
“I’m just super happy to be in the finals again and hopefully I can go all the way again,” Sabalenka said. “I was just praying inside and hoping for the best. I’ll go out there on Saturday and I’ll fight for every point like it’s the last point of my life.”
AloJapan.com