The match ended and Tennis Channel’s Ted Robinson declared, “A star is born.”
That is what it is starting to feel like with American teenager Amanda Anisimova, who reached the French Open semifinals by upsetting defending champion Simona Halep 6-2, 6-4 on Thursday morning. The 17-year-old won on her first match point on Court Philippe Chatrier.
Anisimova is now the youngest American woman to reach a Grand Slam semifinal since Venus Williams at the 1997 US Open.
“I can’t believe it,” she said on the court afterward. “I’ve been working so hard, I didn’t think it’d pay off like this. It’s more than anything I could have asked for.”
Anisimova was born in Freehold Township, NJ, after her parents emigrated from Russia in 1998 — three years before she was born. The family then moved to Florida with Amanda’s older sister and initial tennis inspiration, Maria, trying to pursue a future in the sport.
“I definitely have to sacrifice a lot, because I have to travel so much,” the homeschooled Amanda told the New York Times in 2017 before making her Grand Slam debut at Roland Garros.
“But I really enjoy traveling and playing all these tournaments, so I really don’t care that I don’t go to school or be like a normal person. Because this is what I enjoy doing. Other people might have a different perspective on this, but I really like this and really like my career and how it’s going.”
Anisimova was also motivated by another Maria — Sharapova.
“Maria is definitely the player I have looked up so much, she is an amazing athlete and a great person too,” Anisimova said during the Australian Open. “I want to be the next player after her to win a Slam as a teenager.”
Anisimova, now ranked 51st in the world, made her first Grand Slam statement at January’s Australian Open when she reached the fourth round by shocking 11th-seeded Aryna Sabalenka. She again tortured Sabalenka in Paris, beating her in the second round 6-2, 6-4 — the same dominant scoreline she would use to dispatch Halep.
Anisimova has yet to lose a set in her five wins on the clay over these two weeks.
“If you would have told me I would have been in the quarters this year, I wouldn’t believe you right now,” Anisimova said before beating Halep. “When I was playing two years ago, I really wanted to just win one match and I would have been the happiest person alive!”
She’s done a lot more than that.
Anisimova will play her first major semifinal against eighth-seeded Ashleigh Barty, who knocked off Madison Keys in Thursday’s other women’s quarterfinal, on Friday.
— With AP