Anisimova and Swiatek will battle for Wimbledon crown
Ian Chadband |
Polish great Iga Swiatek and American comeback star Amanda Anisimova will contest the Wimbledon women’s final after reaching the showdown in dramatically different fashion amid a fresh Centre Court heatwave.
Swiatek swept through her one-sided match against Swiss mum Belinda Bencic 6-2 6-0 to reach her sixth major final in the sort of searing form that will ensure she’ll start favourite to land her sixth grand slam crown too in Saturday’s final.
But earlier on Thursday, American Anisimova demonstrated she’ll be a real danger as she kayoed world No.1 Aryna Sabalenka, while exorcising the memory of her French Open nightmare against Ash Barty in her last grand slam semi-final.
The 23-year-old Anisimova, seeded 13, always had the favourite on the run as her clean power-hitting earned her the most hard-fought and fluctuating of 6-4 4-6 6-4 victories.
It was the first time in six years, since she was one of the game’s wunderkinds at 17, Anisimova had made it to the last-four of a grand slam.
On that occasion in 2019, she was a set and 3-0 up over Barty on the clay only to collapse on the home straight and allow the Australian to eventually not only win that match but the tournament.
She’s much better equipped now to prevail after a long journey back to the top which featured her taking a year’s break in May 2023 because of burn-out, when admitting her struggles with her mental health.
“It goes to show it is possible to come back. When I took my break, a lot of people told me that you would never make it to the top again if you take so much time away,” she said.
“That was a little hard to digest because I did want to come back and still achieve a lot and win a grand slam one day.”
There were moments on Thursday when she still looked as if the pressure might be getting to her again as she lost the second set and saw her dominant 5-2 lead in the second pegged back to 5-4 while squandering a match point.
But she again raised her game as Sabalenka served to stay in the match, missing out on two further match-point opportunities before prevailing after two hours 36 minutes in a terrific semi-final.
In the subsequent match in temperatures soaring to 31 degrees, the Swiss Bencic, who’s been making a striking comeback since returning from a maternity break, was simply blown away by Swiatek, who has at last discovered a real aptitude on and appetite for the grass courts.
The one-time Wimbledon junior champion had not looked at home in five previous visits, never getting beyond the quarter-final.
Yet she felt losing her title at the French Open, where she’s been so dominant, may, ironically, have helped. “Honestly, I think it’s easier if you haven’t won Roland Garros and had more time to practise,” she mused.
Swiatek would have taken even less time in overwhelming Bencic if not for a lengthy delay three games into the contest, when, for the third time during both matches, a spectator needed treatment in the stands as a result of the heat.
“I thought I’d experienced everything on the court, but I didn’t experience playing well on grass. It’s the first time and I’m super excited,” beamed Swiatek, while Bencic’s hopes of becoming the first mother to win Wimbledon since Australian Evonne Goolagong Cawley 45 years ago were ended ruthlessly.
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