Ask almost anyone on the women’s tour who has the best backhand and most will say Amanda Anisimova. Ask them who the best server is and the American is not usually top of the list. On Thursday, though, she did her best impression of Serena Williams as she hit 20 aces to scrape past Sofia Kenin and claim a place in the third round.
With every win, Anisimova erases some of the memory of last year’s final, when she was beaten 6-0, 6-0 by Iga Swiatek. But for a while early in the third set, when she trailed the former Australian Open champion 3-1, it looked like she wouldn’t make it. But when she needed it most, her serve came good. Nine of her 20 aces came in that deciding set and her serve got her out of a big hole.
“I’m just happy to be through to the next round,” she said. “I never thought I’d say this but thank you to my serve. I’m not a good server at all but after today, I can say that I am. I was down and told myself to keep fighting. I really tried to bring myself back to the present moment. I try to remind myself – have fun, you’re playing at Wimbledon. These are the matches I train for, the tough ones, the fun ones.”
Anisimova will now play Madison Keys, another hard-hitting American and like Kenin, a former Australian Open champion, having won her first slam title in Melbourne last year.
Following up a surprise win is one of the hardest things to do in tennis, the adrenalin-laden high of victory hard to replicate in the following round when the attention is heightened. Daria Snigur handled it well as she backed up her win over her fellow Ukrainian Elina Svitolina by beating Leolia Jeanjean of France 6-4, 6-3, Maya Joint couldn’t back up her win over Serena Williams, going down 3-6, 6-2, 6-0 to Alexandra Eala, the No 29 seed.
Snigur’s win was even more impressive after she awoke to news of more bombing by Russia in her home city of Kyiv. “It was tough to play,” she said. “This victory, I think, is special for me and for my country. Russia destroyed a lot of houses, people, deaths. It was tough, but I tried to find something inside of me. I should play because I should help my country, my home town. I’m happy to win today.”
“It’s tough to speak about but … I want to give positive emotions for my family. I tried to find something inside of me to practise, to play. I tried to find more motivation [from it] because we had a difficult night. I want to win more, of course.”
Joint was inundated with requests for interviews back home in Australia and at Wimbledon and perhaps the extra demands on her time played a part as she faded in the third set. Eala continues to impress and she will carry with her a horde of Filipino fans into an intriguing clash with Swiatek in the third round.
“I think it’s going to be tough for me [but] I’m going to try to make it tough for her, as well,” she said. “She’s won a slam on grass. She’s won a slam on clay. She’s won a slam on hard, so I’m expecting a great challenge. I think I’m ready for it. I’m ready to face it head on.”
Another Ukrainian, Marta Kostyuk, battled past Anna Blinkova 6-7 (5), 6-3, 6-3 but the 15th seed, Diana Shnaider, was upset 6-4, 4-6, 6-2 by Liudmila Samsonova.
