By Richard Pagliaro | Thursday, June 6, 2019
Amanda Anisimova arrived in Paris seeking her first major clay-court win.
The 17-year-old American now stands one win from her first Grand Slam final.
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In audacious performance of power and poise, Anisimova drilled 25 winners deconstructing defending Roland Garros champion Simona Halep, 6-2, 6-4, rolling into her first Grand Slam semifinal in Paris.
Stepping inside the baseline on match point, Anisimova blasted a backhand winner down the line, flipped her blue Babolat aside then raised her arms in elation. The 51st-ranked teenager has cause for celebration: Anisimova is the youngest American semifinalist in Paris since Jennifer Capriati.
Ten sets up, ten sets down as Anisimova continues a historic tear with cool confidence—and a slight sense of disbelief.
"I can't believe it," Anisimova told Marion Bartoli afterward. "I mean I've been working so hard, but I didn't think it would pay off like this. This is honestly more than I can ever ask for."
The 27-year-old Halep dropped just one game in her 6-1, 6-0 thrashing of 18-year-old Iga Swiatek in the fourth round, but had her hands full against Anisimova.
"I feel sad, because every time when I lose, I'm sad," Halep said. "And I'm a little bit upset because I couldn't make my game. I couldn't move normally.
"You know, I think she played great. I think that I have done everything I could today and this tournament, I'm happy with the result. It's not bad at all to make quarterfinals at a Grand Slam. Coming as a defending champion, the pressure was on."
This was a spectacular star turn from the unseeded teenager, who rolled through a 68-minute sweep with command becoming the youngest American woman to reach a Grand Slam semifinal since a 17-year-old Venus Williams did it at the 1997 US Open.
"I thought it was going out," Anisimova said of her match-point strike. "And then I was like 'Oh, it's in.' "
In just her fourth career Grand Slam main-draw appearance, Anisimova's sense of calm and clarity was impressive.
Showing no trace of nerve, a confident Anisimova overpowered Halep snapping the Romanian's 11-match Roland Garros winning streak to become the youngest woman to reach the French Open final four since Nicole Vaidisova in 2006.
Exuding easy power Anisimova roared through 10 of the first 13 games then held off a brief Halep charge to take the final two games. The consistent depth of the American teenager's drives often forced Halep to hit off her heels from defensive positions.
"She's pushing the ball really deep," Halep said. "Sometimes you cannot go from there because the ball doesn't bounce. She puts pressure on the game. And even if she doesn't hit strong like with a lot of power, she hits it very long, very deep, with good depth, and it's tough to return the balls."
The third-seeded Halep was riding a streak of 16 straight service breaks, but Anisimova's crackling returns ravaged the Romanian's serve. Anisimova converted four of seven break points scoring her fifth consecutive straight-sets win of the tournament.
Former world No. 1 Halep battled back to level the second set at 4-all. Staring down break-point pressure, Anisimova held strong for 5-4.Calm carried her through the finish line.
"Nerves a little bit," Halep said. "Stressed because I felt that I'm playing well, and maybe my expectations for myself were big today. Maybe I couldn't handle the tension in my body so I couldn't play my best and I couldn't move at my best level."
The jittery champion double faulted to face match point.
Anismova's ended Halep's reign using the Romanian's signature shot against her. That backhand bolt down the line typified how Anisimova played this quarterfinal: She took the moment on the rise and took the match.
Exuding a strong sense of self-belief, Anisimova suffocated Halep from the start.
The smoothest clay-court mover remaining in the field, Halep looks born to run on dirt. Freehold, New Jersey native Anisimova ran the reigning champion right out of the tournament showing her own variety.
Anisimova shrewdly hit behind the speedy Halep at times, carved out a few key drop shots and showed a bold second-serve. Launching up and out on serve, Anisimova won 11 of 17 second-serve points and saved six of seven break points.
"Well going out here today I know I've been playing well every single day," Anisimova said. "I knew if I wanted to win today I had to do something different.
"I'm really happy with my performance because this is one of the best matches I've ever played."
"Amazing" is a word Anisimova has used repeatedly to describe her rousing Roland Garros adventure. She'll try to keep this amazing journey going when she takes on eighth-seeded American slayer Ashleigh Barty for a spot in the final.
Miami Open champion Barty beat 2018 semifinalist Madison Keys, 6-3, 7-5, to charge into her first Grand Slam semifinal.
Hall of Famer Rod Laver has picked compatriot Barty to win Roland Garros. Barty has spent her best French Open fortnight beating up on Americans. Barty, who swept both Madison Keys and Sofia Kenin leading Australia past the United States in February Fed Cup, beat both Kenin and Keys again en route to the final four.
Four of Barty's five French Open wins have come against Americans—a streak she'll try to sustain against Anisimova.
The highest-ranked woman still standing in the draw, Barty raised her record to 29-5 on the season and will crack the Top 5 for the first time next week.
British No. 1 Johanna Konta meets 19-year-old Czech Marketa Vondrousova in the other women's semifinal, ensuring there will be a first-time Grand Slam champion in Paris.