Aryna Sabalenka went into the Madrid Open as the defending champion. However, her dreams were crushed when she met Amanda Anisimova in the first round. She defeated the defending champion, and this is a hot topic because of a major reason.

World No. 4 Aryna Sabalenka had faced Amanda Anisimova for the fourth time. However, she could not defeat World No. 33 and had to bid farewell to the Madrid Open.

Evaluating Aryna Sabalenka and Amanda Anisimova’s series of games played would give us insight into the playing dynamics of the two players. Aryna is a top-seeded player who has played in the finals of the Stuttgart Open against Iga Swiatek.

She had been the defending champion of the Madrid Open. However, this did not stop the American player from defeating her in the first round. What is more astounding is that these two players have faced each other four times in totality till now. 

Nonetheless, Sabalenka has not been able to defeat World No. 33 even once.

Uncanny resilience of Amanda Anisimova

This shows the resilience of the American player who stays completely focused. She focuses on playing the Belarusian player when they are both on the court.

She said, “When I play her, I really have to play at my top level, and be really focused and fight for each point. So it’s always about the fighting and trying to stay focused throughout the whole match.”

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This shows that she does not think about any other strategies or various other tactics to tackle Aryna’s attack. Her sole focus is on playing Sabalenka. That eventually leads her to the victory over the top-seeded Belarusian player.

It is uncanny but delightful how a low-ranked player has maintained her winning streak over a high-ranked player.

Defending champion Aryna Sabalenka ousted

Aryna Sabalenka and Amanda Anisimova have faced each other before in the Australian and French Open in 2019. Afterward, they faced each other in Charleston Open in 2022 and, following that, at the Madrid Open recently. Amanda Anisimova defeated Aryna Sabalenka with a score of 6-2, 3-6, 6-4 in the first round of the Madrid Open.

Now, Amanda has moved forward and we know one thing: if Amanda focuses solely on playing, she can overcome any defeat and might just end up winning the Madrid Open.

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What do you think about Amanda Anisimova’s winning streak against Aryna Sabalenka?