Amanda Anisimova had 23 winners and 12 unforced errors in a performance she called the most meaningful victory of her life. (AP Photo)
NEW YORK: How do you recover from a 6-0, 6-0 drubbing in a Grand Slam final? Played in front of a full-house of 15,000 spectators, who had paid up to 315 pounds for a ticket, and watched by millions around the world. Up against Iga Swiatek — the same opponent who had dished out that double bagel — the American shredded the form book to score a 6-4, 6-3 win and reach her first US Open semi-final just 53 days later. The American was ranked 46 in the world when she announced in April 2023 on Social Media that she was taking a mental health break. When she returned in January last year, she was ranked 442. I had that guilt on my back, I was thinking about that more as opposed to winning my first Grand Slam final. ” In the men’s semi-finals on Friday, defending champion Jannik Sinner, who ousted countryman Lorenzo Musetti 6-1, 6-4, 6-2 in the first all-Italian men’s major quarter-final, will face Canada’s Felix Auger-Aliassime in the last four.
“To lose 6-0 6-0 in a Grand Slam final was a lot to experience,” she said. “I would have maybe blamed myself more or held onto guilt for a longer amount of time,” she said of her mentality before the break. On the eve of the last-eight clash, Anisimova watched the highlights of the Wimbledon final, just the second double bagel in a Grand Slam final in the Open Era. She sat out of the Tour for eight months. I made a point to myself and also maybe to other people that, if you have a positive mindset and work through things, you can have a positive outcome. “Truly the most bad I felt was for the people that had come to watch that day. It was really, really quick. That was at the top of my mind, I know how much people pay for those tickets and are excited to see Wimbledon.
On Wednesday Anisimova gave a masterclass in resilience under a moody New York sky. “Today I’m really, really proud of myself.