Amanda Anisimova came through a tight, three-set tussle against the resurgent Naomi Osaka under the New York lights last night, defeating the two-time champion 6-7 (4-7), 7-6 (7-3), 6-3 to reach a second consecutive Grand Slam final, just weeks after reaching her first.
The American has powered her way to a maiden US Open final a little over seven weeks since reaching her first major final at Wimbledon earlier this summer.
That match is now infamous for a painful 6-0, 6-0 loss of which Anisimova was on the wrong side. Yet the 24-year-old has achieved the sweetest and most impressive of redemptions over the past fortnight, at the first time of asking and in front of her home crowd in New York.
“It means the world. I’m trying to process that right now – it’s a dream come true,” Anisimova said.
“The hope is to be the champion but I’m in the final now and I’m excited.”
Osaka’s return to somewhere near her finest form is undoubtedly one of the stories of the tournament, with a run to the final in Montreal wonderfully backed up with a first Grand Slam semi-final berth since she won the 2021 Australian Open.
But it is Anisimova who carries her equally compelling narrative into the final of this year’s US Open, where she will meet world No 1 and defending champion Aryna Sabalenka in Saturday’s showpiece.
The Belarusian came through a similarly tough test against another home hope in Jessica Pegula.
The American nudged the first set, winning the final four games on the spin in impressive fashion having initially trailed 4-2 by a break.
Sabalenka tightened up her service games for the remaining two sets, however, not allowing Pegula to earn another break in the match. A single break for the world No 1 was enough to clinch a tough win and seal passage into her third straight US Open final.
“Hopefully I can go all the way again,” said Sabalenka, who has the chance to become the first player to successfully defend the women’s singles title since Serena Williams in 2014.
“It means a lot. I will go out there on Saturday and I will fight for every point like it’s the last point of my life.”
