Amanda Anisimova has shocked the world to reach the Wimbledon final; however, for some, this was not a surprising result.
After all, Aryna Sabalenka had been put through the wringer this tournament, forced to engage in long, gruelling battles against the likes of Laura Siegemund and Emma Raducanu even before her three-set thriller against the American yesterday.
These clashes take their toll, and there were signs of fragility across both matches that could have been exploited on another day.
The British number one found herself a break up in both sets and failed to convert, whilst her German quarter-final opponent was first a set up, and later a break up in the third set, before she turned things around.
Anisimova was the player who managed to capitalise best on Aryna Sabalenka’s minor flaws, helped by the fact that she knew exactly what to expect from her opponent.
Amanda Anisimova rates Aryna Sabalenka’s Wimbledon semi-final performance
Speaking to Tennis Channel after the match, the 23-year-old gave an honest assessment of not just her performance, but Sabalenka’s too.
After all, she will have known the threat posed by the world’s top-ranked player, and yet remained at her level throughout.
Anisimova admitted: “Honestly, throughout the whole match, I mean, I knew that it wasn’t over till it’s over, and at any given moment, I knew she was gonna step up her game and I know she has a lot of tricks in her bag, and yeah, I just know that she’s gonna bring up her level as the match goes on and on.
“Especially in the second set, I just knew that her level was gonna gonna come up, and she’s gonna start fighting more. So, yeah, I just really tried to zone in, just focus on myself and keep fighting, and I kept telling myself to believe in myself and to survive the heat out there. I mean, it was so hot.
“It was so hot, though. And I’ve been in Europe, I mean, since April, I think. So I’m basically European, I mean, what can I say? But yeah, I felt bad for everyone out there watching. It was tough out there.”
Anisimova has matched one area of Jannik Sinner’s game this tournament, to display just how impressive she has been.
Amanda Anisimova’s road to the Wimbledon final
Although she has played just two seeds to reach the Wimbledon final, Anisimova’s run at this event has been far from easy.
And, she cannot be lambasted for taking advantage of a hugely weakened field, with record numbers of top players exiting early in this tournament.
Her first test came against Renata Zarazúa, but she ended up winning comfortably, 6-3, 6-4.
A second-round clash with Dalma Gálfi was not so simple, taken to three sets by the Hungarian, winning the third 6-3.
Another three-set encounter awaited in the third round, facing the wily Linda Nosková. Again, she showed her grit to set up a quarter-final match against the big-striking Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova.
Anisimova went blow-for-blow with the Russian, crushing her 6-1 in the first set and grinding out the second set on a tiebreak.
A semi-final against Sabalenka was her reward, and now Iga Swiatek awaits in the final. This tournament really has saved the best till last for the young superstar.
