Amanda Anisimova‘s follow-up to last year’s runner-up finish was supposed to be a comeback story. Instead, it ended in visible heartbreak. The 10th seed was upset by Anastasia Potapova 6-2, 7-5 in the third round at Louis Armstrong Stadium, a result that also drops her out of the WTA top 10.
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The American never found her footing in the first set, squandering seven break points as Potapova broke twice to close it out 6-2. Anisimova fought back in the second, trading breaks with Potapova three times in a baseline slugfest backed by a vocal New York crowd. However, when the set reached 4-4 and she lost the first point on her serve, she broke down in tears as she walked to the baseline to serve for the next point.
She could not sustain the fightback. The 24th seed broke American’s serve again in the last game as Anisimova hit a forehand long and then served out the match to win 6-2, 7-5.
Unforced errors were the story of Anisimova’s afternoon, as she committed 46 errors across two sets, including 18 on the forehand side and the majority on the backhand, a shot she relies on the most. Potapova, the 24th seed who now represents Austria, reached the US Open fourth round for the first time in her career, only the third time she has made the second week of a major and her first outside Roland Garros.
Anisimova, who is the 2025 US Open runner-up, has now lost 10 matches against opponents ranked inside the top 30 of the world and has just four wins to match those losses. These are concerning numbers for the former world No. 3, which she will dwell upon while analysing the loss.
Potapova’s remarkable turnaround
As recently as April, Potapova was staring at a drop out of the world’s top 100, her ranking having slid all the way to No. 97. Since then, she has made a comeback to the top 25, and Saturday’s victory over Anisimova was the most recent step in that resurgence.
“Well, to be honest, we had tactics before the match, which don’t match my game, so it already was not easy,” Potapova said afterward in the press conference. “But the way I managed to use the tactics, I think it’s one of the best games that I’ve ever had.”
She is also now in the fourth round at the majors for the third time in her career, the previous two times at Roland Garros in 2024 and this year. When asked about her turnaround, Potapova attributed it to experience.
“It just takes all the past years that I’ve been on tour, all the matches that I’ve played, to learn from that,” she said. “The people who also help me to understand some things. And maturity really plays a big role in becoming better and better.”
It was Potapova’s third win over a top 10 opponent this season, following victories over Coco Gauff at the French Open and Elena Rybakina in Madrid, and her eighth Grand Slam match win of the year.
The Russian-Austrian will be facing fifth seed and Roland Garros champion Mirra Andreeva in the round of 16, who is yet to lose a set in this tournament. Both players have met four times on the tour previously, most recently at the Linz Open final, where the 19-year-old Russian defeated Potapova to win the title in three sets. Overall, Andreeva leads the head-to-head record with three wins. The only loss came in 2022, which was the first encounter of their career.
Andreeva reaching the round of 16 is also her best run at Flushing Meadows. Who will extend their career-best run in New York, Potapova or Andreeva?