Amanda Anisimova revealed that rewatching her traumatic Wimbledon defeat at the hands of Iga Swiatek served as motivation for her stunning quarter-final upset at the US Open on Wednesday.
Just two months after suffering a humiliating 6-0, 6-0 loss to Swiatek in the Wimbledon final — a rare and crushing double-bagel — the American eighth seed turned the tables, defeating the Polish second seed 6-4, 6-3 under the lights of Arthur Ashe Stadium.
Anisimova, who now advances to her first US Open semi-final where she will face two-time champion Naomi Osaka, said she revisited the painful loss as part of her preparation.
“Last night — nobody told me to — but I watched [the match] back, as painful as it was, just to see what I could avoid or what went wrong,” Anisimova told reporters. “Then I had to watch some good highlights to remove that from my brain.”
“It was important for me to see what happened going into today’s match.”
The 22-year-old said the Wimbledon defeat helped her develop a fearless mindset, which she brought into Wednesday’s rematch.
“What I learned then — and also throughout this tournament — is that with each match I’ve played, I’ve told myself to really not go into it with fear,” she said. “Today, I came out with not an ounce of fear.”
Swiatek, a six-time Grand Slam champion, admitted her struggles on serve were decisive. The world No. 2 landed only 50% of her first serves and won just 10 of 30 points on her second serve.
“I couldn’t win today’s match playing like that, serving like that, and with Amanda being so aggressive on the returns,” Swiatek said.
“It was totally different from Wimbledon. She moved better, played better — everything was different.”
A battle of momentum shifts
The match didn’t begin smoothly for Anisimova, who was broken in the opening game of the first set, giving Swiatek early momentum. But the American quickly broke back and steadied her nerves.
Anisimova faced a critical moment in the fifth game, falling behind 15-40 on her serve. She saved both break points with powerful groundstrokes and held for 3-2.
The pivotal moment came in the 10th game, when Swiatek’s inconsistent serving again proved costly. Down 15-40, she saved one set point but sent a wild forehand long on the second, handing Anisimova the opening set.
Swiatek started the second set more positively, breaking early to take a 2-0 lead. But Anisimova immediately broke back and seized control.
A fortunate net cord helped the American secure a 4-3 lead, and Swiatek then double-faulted on break point to fall behind 5-3. Serving for the match, Anisimova raced to triple match point at 40-0. Swiatek saved two, but another net cord—this one again bouncing just out of reach—sealed a dramatic and cathartic victory for Anisimova.
AFP
