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Anisimova edges Sabalenka, Swiatek cruises past Bencic to set up final
Anisimova upsets top seed Sabalenka to reach Wimbledon final, while Swiatek dominates Bencic, marking an unexpected championship showdown.
Mumbai: Early in the tournament, it was established that the women’s draw at Wimbledon was anybody’s game. The seeds kept tumbling, and by Sunday, it was clear that there would be a new champion at the All England Club.
One more big upset was in store on Thursday. Top seed Aryna Sabalenka, in her third straight Wimbledon semi-final, was widely expected to break the shackles of being only a hard-court Grand Slam champion. But for the gritty display put up by 13th seed Amanda Anisimova.
Against a player known for her hard-hitting style, Anisimova redirected a cross-court forehand deep towards Sabalenka’s right that the world No.1 had no chance getting to. And just like that, Amisimova scored the upset of the tournament in a 6-4, 4-6, 6-4 win to become the first American since the great Serena Williams to reach the Wimbledon final.
A few hours later, Iga Swiatek thumped a backhand down the line return winner to win the second semi-final with a statement 6-2, 6-0 win over Belinda Bencic.
By most accounts this is an unexpected line-up for the final. Especially Anisimova, who has had an incredible run to make it to her first Grand Slam final. Her triumph appears surprising only because it is still early in her return to the tour after an eight-month hiatus.
“If you told me I would be in the final of Wimbledon, I would not believe you,” Anisimova said in the on-court interview after the semi-final win.
“At least not this soon. It’s been a year turnaround since coming back. To be in this spot is not easy. So many people dream of competing on this incredible court, it’s been such a privilege to compete here. To be in the final is indescribable honestly.”
Winning the junior US Open champion in 2017 thrust Anisimova into the limelight as one of the rising stars in world tennis. In her breakthrough year in 2019, she managed to reach the French Open semi-final and won her first WTA Tour title, in Bogota, Colombia, just a few weeks earlier.
But being in the spotlight and dealing with the constant pressures of expectation started to take a toll on her mental health. She decided in May 2023 to take an indefinite break.
“I’ve really been struggling with my mental health and burnout since the summer of 2022,” she had written in a social media post. “It’s become unbearable being at tennis tournaments. At this point, my priority is my mental well-being and taking a break for some time. I’ve worked as hard as I could to push through it.”
Then ranked 21 in the world, she returned in 2024 and started to pick up the pieces.
A run to the Canadian Masters final in 2024 was followed by WTA 1000 Doha Open title earlier this year. Along the way, she’s learnt to appreciate every win. Especially the hard-fought ones.
“There’s a lot of value in not playing your best and still grinding it out. So many matches are tough,” her coach Hendrik Vleeshouwers said to Access All England.
On Thursday, Anisimova arguably did not play her best tennis — she hit fewer winners than Sabalenka (30 to 31) and committed more unforced errors (42 to 37).
But she stayed clever in her play, redirecting the pace with which Sabalenka was hitting to send the ball back into sharper angles. Just as she did to convert her fourth match point.
There will be plenty of power from the other end of the court, once again, when she plays in the final on Saturday.
Swiatek storms into final
While the first semi-final took two hours and 37 minutes to complete, Swiatek, the eight seed needed just an hour and 12 minutes to score a comprehensive win over Bencic.
In a display of clean, powerful hitting, Swiatek broke her opponent’s serve five times while not conceding a break of serve herself. The Pole thumped 26 winners to Bencic’s 11, but did have 13 unforced errors to the Swiss’ eight.
In what has been a difficult season for the five-time Grand Slam winner, it seems that Swiatek has found an upswing— especially on a surface she has not quite had much success on.
“I never dreamt that it’s going to be possible for me to play in the final (at Wimbledon),” she said post-match. “I’m just proud of myself. Tennis keeps surprising me. Even though I’m young, I thought I had experienced everything on the court. I didn’t experience playing well on grass. This is the first time, I’m super excited and I’m enjoying it.”
