By Chris Oddo | @TheFanChild | Monday July 4, 2022
The 20-year-old American is into her first Wimbledon quarterfinal and hungry for more.
Photo Source: Getty
By Chris Oddo | @TheFanChild | Monday, July 4, 2022
20-year-old Amanda Anisimova has been a bit under the radar in since 2019, after a few down years that followed the sudden death of her father and coach Konstantin in 2019. That devastating development alone would be enough to sidetrack the career of the strongest athlete, and it wasn't all the talented American has had to face.
Anisimova has gone through several years of bad breaks, hard knocks and freak injuries, as well as the sudden departure of coach Darren Cahill from her team this spring.
All the obstacles that Anisimova has overcome to reach her first Wimbledon quarterfinal this week, and the scintillating form she has displayed for much of this season, make her return to form even more impressive.
There’s a lot more to the young American than one of the smoothest and most lethal backhands in the game today. There’s also character, determination, and mental toughness.
It’s all adding up - to the tune of a 29-9 record in 2022, including 13-6 in three-setters and 7-6 against the Top-20 - and the best may be yet to come.
“I know I can do better,” Anisimova said on Monday after dismantling France’s Harmony Tan in straights sets. “I'm excited for the next round because I want more.
"I'm not completely satisfied with just a quarterfinal because my goal this year has been to win a Grand Slam.
Anisimova, who played a Grand Slam semifinal at Roland-Garros as a 17-year-old in 2019, says she took the experience for granted.
“I think when I was 17, I didn't really appreciate getting to the semifinals as much as I probably should,” she said. “It only soaked in I think like a year later, understanding what that was, how much it actually meant to me.
“Just having over a year of not very good results, it really affects you. It motivates me a lot to train harder and just work harder. But when you have losses every week in early rounds, it's very hard to find that motivation. I just kept going. It just took longer than I thought it would. That's why it means so much to me now for having a great year this year.”
Anisimova doesn’t talk much about the sudden passing of her father, at least not to reporters, but she’s made it clear on social media that he’s always in her heart.
After winning the title at Adelaide this year, she made sure to give him mention in a social media post:
“To my dad, I miss you. I wish you could send me a funny text like you normally would after I win 🤣 but I know you’re proud of me ❤️ love you,” she wrote.
It’s nice to see that Anisimova is reaching her potential. And at the age of 20, there’s still plenty of time for her to build her game.
After dropping out of the top-80 for a spell, it appears that Anisimova, currently ranked 25, has the potential to be a Top-10 player and, dare we say, a Grand Slam champion.
She'll face 2019 Wimbledon champion Simona Halep in the quarterfinals, a difficult matchup to be sure, as Anisimova was blitzed by Halep two weeks ago in Bad Homburg.
But four wins at Wimbledon can change the confidence, and Anisimova will have that going for her when she faces the Romanian on Wednesday.
Now matter how it turns out, things are clearly pointed north for Anisimova, after a long period of turmoil. And that's great news.
“I kept pushing myself even though it was just like constant dissatisfaction kind of, losing constantly at tournaments,” Anisimova said. “Yeah, I'm just happy with the way I kept pushing myself and knowing that the hard work will eventually pay off. Even though it took quite a long time, I think I progressed last year quite a bit, then it really started showing this year.