After battling back from two games away from a shock defeat at the US Open Amanda Anisimova’s celebration was one she had never experienced at a grand slam.
The 22nd seed held her nerve to edge out tournament underdog Katrina Scott 4-6, 6-4, 6-1. A 16-year-old player ranked outside the top 600 who only managed to enter the main draw with the help of a late wild card from the USTA. Despite the early scare, Anisimova managed to close out the match in an emphatic manor against her inexperienced rival by winning eight out of the last nine games played.
“I was definitely very nervous, so it was very hard to go for my shots the way I normally would. I was just trying to be consistent,” said Anisimova, who hit 48 unforced errors during the match.
“I was just fighting the whole time because I knew I could come back at any time, just play it point by point and do the best that I can.”
Anisimova’s ability to turn around her fortunes serves as somewhat of a confidence boost for the American who won the US Open girls’ title three years ago by defeating Coco Gauff in the final. The 19-year-old admits that she is still ‘scared’ of mentally coming apart during a match but hopes to get over her fear in the coming years.
“I’ve had so many matches where I’m down, then I start freaking out. It takes a lot of experience to become good at it because it’s so easy in tennis to have a mental breakdown and lose the match. I was really scared of that happening,” she said.
The Billie Jean King Tennis Center serves as a place of mixed emotions for the rising star. Besides her junior triumph, she lost her opening match as a professional in 2018 and then withdrew in 2019 following the sudden death of her father. Anisimova said during her on-court interview that she was thinking of her father throughout her latest match which served as motivation for her.
Dealing with her own mental demons the world No.28 had to do so inside an almost silent Arthur Ashe Arena, which holds a capacity of more than 23,000 people. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic this year’s tournament is being held behind closed doors with only tournament staff, players and coaches allowed to watch in the stands. Something that may benefit some but not Anisimova.
“In the match I kept thinking, like, Oh, my gosh, I can’t believe this is the US Open, where is everybody? It’s definitely a huge bummer, I’m not going to lie, pretend like it’s not, because it is,” she explained.
“At the end of the day here it’s all about winning. That’s the only thing that matters at this point. But it is really upsetting. It does cross my mind a lot that there’s nobody here to cheer you on.”
Next up in the draw will be a showdown with 15th seed Maria Saakari, who also required three sets to get past Bernarda Pera in her third round match. Pera was the player who stunned Serena Williams at the Top Seed Open last week.
“I’m looking forward to playing with her. It’s always exciting playing a player I’ve never played before. It’s going to be something new,” Anisimova said of her next opponent.
“My game is getting better with each match, so I’m feeling pretty confident.”
