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Thirteenth seed Amanda Anisimova fought past top seed Aryna Sabalenka 6-4 4-6 6-4 to reach her maiden Grand Slam final at Wimbledon. In each of her first four matches this fortnight, Sabalenka had to win seven games to claim sets, and later dropped her first set of the tournament to Laura Siegemund before mounting a comeback to reach the semifinals. But her run ended against the in-form Anisimova, who leads the WTA Tour in grass-court wins this season with 12.
The opening set of the ladies’ singles semifinal was a tightly contested battle that remained on serve until the very end. In a grueling six-deuce game, Anisimova finally broke Sabalenka’s resistance, capitalizing on her second set point after a costly double fault from the top seed.
The second set followed a similarly tense pattern. The turning point came in the seventh game, when Anisimova led 30-0 and had a golden opportunity on a short ball—but she committed an unforced backhand error, followed by a string of mistakes, including a double fault that handed Sabalenka the break. Anisimova put up a fierce fight in the ninth game, saving four set points in a marathon that lasted over eight minutes. However, she couldn’t stop Sabalenka from closing out the set in the following game on her own serve, leveling the match at one set apiece.
Sabalenka opened the deciding set with a love break, entering full tiger mode—an ominous sign for Anisimova, who hadn’t earned a single break point in the previous set. But the momentum shifted dramatically. Anisimova stormed back to win four straight games and even held a break point for a commanding 5-1 lead, despite Sabalenka’s relentless power, including a forehand that literally brought Anisimova to her knees.
The top seed dug deep to halt the American’s surge, holding serve for 4-2. Then, at 5-3, Sabalenka saved a match point and broke back, adding even more drama to an already electric contest. But Anisimova stayed composed, unfazed by the fire in Sabalenka’s eyes. She earned triple break—and match—point in the next game, finally converting her fourth to seal the biggest win of her career.
Anisimova was ranked outside the Top 400 when she returned to the tour at the start of the 2024 season following a mental health sabbatical. Now, she has achieved her career-best Grand Slam result and is set to break into the Top 10 of the PIF WTA Rankings for the first time next week.
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