Just under two months ago, Amanda Anisimova suffered one of the most lopsided losses in tennis history. Just two days after the biggest win of her career, the American was skunked by Iga Swiatek in the Wimbledon final without winning a single game, a 6-0, 6-0 rout that will live on in infamy forever.
On Wednesday at the US Open, Anisimova got a chance for revenge. She did not miss.
In another one of the best performances of her young career, the No. 8 seed came up clutch in the big moments to knock off Swiatek 6-4, 6-3 and advance to the semifinals of her home major for the first time. Both its were tightly-contested, but the No. 8 seed came up with a late break in both of them to keep her stellar major season going.
This was a record-setting victory for Anisimova, who became the first American woman to reach Grand Slam semifinals in singles since both Venus and Serena Williams did it in 2002. She is also the youngest player to defeat the top two players on the WTA Tour at Grand Slam level in one year since Svetlana Kuznetsova back in 2009, according to OptaAce, pairing this win with her victory over World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka in the Wimbledon semifinals.
The home crowd at Arthur Ashe Stadium was a big factor in getting Anisimova into the match and over the finish line, especially after she lost her serve with a shaky opening game in the first set. After the match, she opened up to the crowd about getting the win after her Wimbledon heartbreak in her on-court interview.
“Playing here is so freaking special. I’ve been having the run of my life here,” Anisimova said. “When I got here I was like ‘Ok let’s try and get through one round.’ This has been such a dream. To come back from Wimbledon like that is really special to me. I feel like I worked so hard to turn around from that. Today proved everything for me. I can do it. This is really special.”
Swiatek came into the tournament as one of the favorites to win the title after lifting the trophy at the Cincinnati Open, the biggest prep tournament for the US Open. She had not played her best tennis so far through four matches, but Anisimova gave her no breathing room with her ballstriking all day long.
Now, Anisimova will play either No. 11 seed Karolina Muchova or No. 23 seed Naomi Osaka in the semifinals on Thursday night as she sits two wins away from her first Grand Slam.
