What a win it was for 17-year-old #AmandaAnisimova, playing in her first-ever main draw appearance at the #AustralianOpen. Anisimova became the first player born in the 2000s to reach the second week of a Major after stunning world number 11 and huge title contender #ArynaSabalenka in the third round here in Melbourne.
Anisimova played some lights-out tennis to upset the Belarusian, who came into the match being the third-favourite to claim the Australian Open title. The talented American youngster overcame the odds and spoiled the party for an out-of-sorts Sabalenka, who fell with a one-sided 3-6, 2-6 scoreline after just an hour and five minutes of play.
Sabalenka failed to fire her way past Anisimova as the unseeded player looked like a solid wall, retrieving every ball back and returning each ball with even more power; making it extraordinary to ponder about how a 17-year-old has such power to go against the world-class players.
Sabalenka fired 12 winners to 13 unforced errors, and in fact, did not play that poorly as Anisimova was just too good. The American blasted 21 winners and committed just a mere nine unforced errors, winning 80 percent of her first serves and losing just eight points behind her second serves, holding her serve throughout the entire match and keeping Sabalenka at bay often enough.
Anisimova snatches the first set
A slow start from Sabalenka saw her produce a series of unforced errors as she required a particular amount of time to get used to the conditions and get into her destructive mode. Anisimova, as a result, was able to take full advantage of her opponent’s errors and broke serve in the opening game of the match which provided her with ample confidence and self-belief.
Anisimova seemed to be unstoppable; consolidating the break within a lightning flash and surging to extend her lead. Sabalenka finally managed to get onto the scoreboard as she looked to restore the order, firing an ace to hold serve for the first time in the afternoon.
A lengthy game saw Anisimova in trouble for the first time in the match, but the youngster held her nerves extremely well especially when Sabalenka seemed to have wakened up, and was just an inch away from soaring straight back. Anisimova was able to neutralize the power of the Belarusian’s shots, forcing her to stay at the baseline and prevented her from being too overpowering.
The underdog had to escape from yet another dangerous service game which featured three deuces. Anisimova came up with some world-class serving during the nervy moments — firing consecutive aces to close out the huge, outcome-changing game for a comfortable 4-2 lead. Sabalenka was able to minimize the deficit, although she failed to find the breakthrough on the return throughout the set.
Eight of the next 10 points went to Anisimova as the American soon went into a destructive mode, stamping her authority across the court as Sabalenka threw in several abundant errors which saw her concede the first set 6-3 after just 32 minutes of play.
Anisimova strolls to the terrific win
Carrying her momentum into the new set, Anisimova fired consecutive forehand winners and her confidence was definitely boosted with the confident service hold in the opening game of the second set. Sabalenka was all over the place, as she was getting overpowered and had no Plan B in store.
Anisimova was surprisingly redirecting the pace well, utilizing the pace to hit powerful winners of her own — blasting two backhand winners in a row to grab the quick break of serve. Anisimova seemed to be unstoppable, beating Sabalenka with a taste of her own medicine, surviving a break point which could have completely changed the outcome of the match and instead consolidating the break for a commanding 3-0 lead.
Sabalenka found herself in deeper trouble; going down 0-3 15-40 on serve but rebounded perfectly to get onto the scoreboard with the confidence-boosting hold. It seemed like Sabalenka could produce the improbable comeback, but Anisimova quickly shut the comeback door as she won seven consecutive points to go up 4-1, 40-0.
Sabalenka had to survive the narrow service game once more, showing her sheer determination as she surged back to minimize the deficit with some inspired play despite the one-sided scoreline. It just was not meant to be, as Anisimova did not let loose throughout the entire match and eventually closed out the terrific straight-sets win after an hour and five minutes of play.
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