By the time the 2019 US Open gets underway on August 26th, Amanda Anisimova will be just five days shy of her 18th birthday. The New Jersey-born player has enjoyed a breakthrough year, and she is likely to receive plenty of support from the stands when she begins her Grand Slam campaign later this month. There will be plenty of pressure on the teenager at Flushing Meadows, but the talented right-hander should be able to take those expectations in her stride.
To be tested is good, the challenged life may be the best therapist. pic.twitter.com/5y1tITp1fx
— Amanda Anisimova (@AnisimovaAmanda) August 3, 2019
Anisimova doesn’t suffer from apprehension. She reached the semi-finals of the 2019 French Open, telling reporters that “she doesn’t do nerves”, as she confidently stepped onto the court at Roland Garros. She became the youngest player to reach the final four of the clay-court event since Nicole Vaidisova thirteen years ago. She also became the first player to be born in the 21st century to reach the quarter-finals of the Grand Slam.
Anisimova takes every game on its own merit, and she has a remarkably calm approach to her game. She doesn’t allow herself to get carried away, admitting that she is “just trying to stay in the present”.
2019 will mark her second appearance in the US Open main draw, and she will be hoping to last a little longer this time around. Twelve months ago, she was eliminated by fellow American Taylor Townsend despite taking the first set 6-3. She reached the second round of Wimbledon in July, beating Romanian Sorana Cirstea in straight sets before bumping into Magda Linetta.
Anisimova is certainly one the games best prospects, and although her odds of 33/1 in the US Open tennis odds suggest that she may have to wait a little longer for her first success in New York, she certainly has all of the tools to succeed at the highest level. She was inspired to pick up a racket by Maria Sharapova, and she certainly boasts the same youthful confidence which helped the Russian cruise to an unexpected Wimbledon success in 2004.
“I came out of it and I was like, I don’t really — of course I care if I win or if I lose, but I was really proud of the effort.”@MariaSharapova opens up about the positives she took following her second match since January at the @rogerscup–> https://t.co/nrbenXYzkq pic.twitter.com/L9L4Bxl1iY
— WTA (@WTA) August 6, 2019
Serena Williams’ coach Patrick Mouratoglou is one of many high-profile names to have lavished praise upon the teenager suggesting that “she has incredible timing”, before comparing the Florida-based player to Lindsay Davenport.
Although this will be just her second appearance in the main draw, she was victorious here in the Juniors back into 2017, beating Cori Gauff in straight sets. Her opponent has since made headlines across the world after beating Venus Williams in the first round of Wimbledon. Just twelve months earlier, she was defeated in the final of the French Open by Rebeka Masarova.
Although she was born in New Jersey, Anisimova’s family moved to Florida just three years later, yet the 17-year old always feels at home in New York. She won’t be fazed by the growing expectation surrounding her, and is likely to feed off the crowd’s enthusiasm. The US Open is always hugely competitive, and another all-star field is guaranteed, yet that will not worry Amanda Anisimova.
The home crowd is likely to get behind her throughout the tournament, and if she can replicate her heroics in the French Capital, she has a terrific chance of giving them plenty to smile about later this month.
