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.
This is a developing story…