American Amanda Anisimova has upset Iga Swiatek 6-4, 6-3 in the US Open quarterfinals, less than two months after losing to the six-time grand slam champion in the Wimbledon final 6-0, 6-0.
The number eight-seeded Anisimova reached her third major semifinal and first at Flushing Meadows.
"To come back from Wimbledon like that is really special to me," said Anisimova, a 24-year-old who was born in New Jersey and grew up in Florida.
"I feel like I worked so hard to try and turn around from that … Today is really special."
The powerful strokes and poise she displayed in Arthur Ashe Stadium against number two Swiatek — the 2022 US Open champion — were such a striking contrast to what happened at the All England Club's Centre Court on July 12.
That title match lasted just 57 minutes, and Anisimova only managed to win 24 points that day, a total she eclipsed about midway through the first set this time.
Anisimova cried during her runner-up speech during the trophy ceremony at Wimbledon; after this match, though, she was all smiles while addressing thousands of supportive spectators who kept interrupting her on-court interview with cheers.
"Playing here is so freaking special," Anisimova said.
"And I've been having the run of my life here."
Anisimova served first and got broken immediately when she lost three points in a row by missing forehands — one into the net, one wide, one long.
But Anisimova broke right back and soon was the one dictating points with her strong, flat groundstrokes that wound up contributing to 23 total winners, 10 more than Swiatek accumulated.
Anisimova also played quite cleanly, making just 12 unforced errors.
In the second set, Anisimova fell behind again, this time 2-0.
But she again regrouped and quickly gained the upper hand. Swiatek was the one looking increasingly frustrated, shaking her head or slumping her shoulders between points, spreading her arms wide and looking to her coach for advice, and leaning back in her changeover chair as if pondering what, exactly, she could do differently.
When Swiatek double-faulted to trail 5-3 in the second set, that allowed Anisimova to serve out the victory.
"From the get-go, I was trying to fire myself up," Anisimova said.
"She is one of the toughest players I've ever played. I knew I was going to have to dig deep."
Anisimova to face Osaka in last four
Anisimova will try to reach a second consecutive major final when she faces four-time grand slam champion Naomi Osaka in the semifinals.
Osaka defeated Karolína Muchová 6-4, 7-6 (7/3) in a match that should have been straightforward but wasn't, despite the player from Czechia being hampered by injury for much of the match.
Some of Osaka's forehands were simply exceptional, but the Japanese star failed to take full advantage of her opponent's limitations after she had a medical timeout and received attention on her left thigh.
Despite obvious discomfort, Muchová held things together to force a second set tie-break, but when she went 3-1 down the end was near.
She came close to grabbing the mini-break back, but her almost-winner was 1 millimetre out.
Osaka held four match points, and although she gave away the first, she forced the error from Muchová that ended the match.
Whenever Osaka has previously made it to the quarterfinal of a major tournament, she has gone on to win.
She has two Australian Opens and two US Open titles to her name, and she is now two matches away from a third crown at Flushing Meadows.
AP/ABC
