Amanda Anisimova claimed arguably the biggest win of her career at Wimbledon.
The 23-year-old took on the WTA’s top-ranked player Aryna Sabalenka for a spot in the final of the biggest match of the season.
She went toe-to-toe with the Belarusian for three entertaining sets in the scorching heat on Centre Court.
After over two hours of intense play, Anisimova booked a place in her first Grand Slam final, where she will face Iga Swiatek.
Amanda Anisimova credits Aryna Sabalenka for a ‘great battle’ after their Wimbledon semi-final
Amanda Anisimova needed a good start and that is exactly what she achieved by taking the first set of their semifinal.
As she has done so often in the past, Sabalenka came back to take the second set, and the third was a fight to the finish.
Anisimova opened up a 4-2 lead and served for the match at 5-3, but Sabalenka reduced the deficit by breaking serve.
But the match lasted just one more game as Anisimova, while leading 5-4, broke her opponent’s serve to seal a 6-4, 4-6, 6-4 win and reach her first Wimbledon final.
Anisimova has since taken to Instagram to wish congratulate Sabalenka on a playing a hard-fought match. “A Wimbledon final and a Jaxi/Egee bday bash & nice shirt Kev. See you Saturday!!!!!!!!!!,” she wrote.
“And I just wanna say what a battle out there, credit to Aryna, she is such an incredible competitor. I’m sure we have many more great battles to come.”
Amanda Anisimova says she struggled with her serve against Aryan Sabalenka at Wimbledon
Anisimova knew she needed to be at her best if she wanted to defeat Sabalenka at Wimbledon.
She was producing the level of shotmaking that carried her to the last four, especially with her backhand which caused Sabalenka many problems.
But post-match Anisimova admitted she struggled to hold serve at times, which was illustrated with her failure to serve out the match. On the other hand, she was pleased with how she went for her shots and did not allow Sabalenka to dictate play.
“I was trying to really stay on top of my serve, was struggling a bit there,” Anisimova said. “Holding serve was just going to be super important. In the third set I knew that I was going to really have to go for it.
“Her level just kept increasing and getting better and better throughout the match. So to be able to come on top, I knew that I wasn’t just going to win off her mistakes.
“I really had to bring my game and do as much as I could, especially when it came to being aggressive.”
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