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By Richard Pagliaro | Saturday, May 23, 2022

 
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Amanda Anisimova stopped Naomi Osaka 7-5, 6-4—her second major win over the former world No. 1—to power into the Roland Garros second round.

Photo credit: Getty

Stars collided on a murky day in Paris.

A blazing Amanda Anisimova shoved Naomi Osaka out of the field for the second straight Slam.

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Anisimova banged a backhand off the sideline sealing a 7-5, 6-4 sweep of former world No. 1 Osaka in style to advance to the Roland Garros second round.

"It was very difficult," Anisimova said. "Especially like a lot of anticipation over the last couple of days. I was trying not to think about it too much, but going into the match, I did feel like the stress and the nerves a bit, because it is a very tough first round. I'm just happy with how I was able to manage it and get through it."

It is Anisimova’s second major conquest of Osaka this year.




Anisimova fought off two match points stunning Osaka in a thrilling 4-6, 6-3, 7-6(5) triumph at the Australian Open in January.

Today’s rematch was an 11 a.m. start so the crowd wasn't nearly as energized as the Melbourne fan base, but both women were booming baseline drives at the outset.

The 2019 Roland Garros semifinalist ripped the ball down both lines with ambition at critical stages. Anisimova more than doubled Osaka’s winner output—27 to 13—out-aced one of tennis’ most imposing servers (5 to 4) and broke serve four times in a tidy 90-minute triumph.



A year ago, an emotional Osaka withdrew from Roland Garros after sharing she's battled mental health issues and depression. Today, Osaka, who played with taping around her Achilles, said the Anisimova return was unsettling.

"Honestly I didn't feel, like, my Achilles until the second set, I would say," Osaka told the media in Paris. "So in the first set, like, I was totally like fine. I think the serve issue was just down to like playing a really good returner and kind of being a bit shaken by what she could possibly do. So I was trying to maybe go for too much, more than usual.

"I also haven't practiced as much as I wanted to. But, yeah, I was really grateful for the crowd, like I could feel a lot of energy. It was really fun to play there, even though I didn't win."

The victory vaults the 20-year-old American into the second round against Croatian Donna Vekic. The winner of the Anisimova-Vekic match will face either fourth-seeded Maria Sakkari or 2021 Australian Open semifinalist Karolina Muchova.

Tennis Express

Unseeded at a Grand Slam for the first time since the 2018 Australian Open, Osaka couldn’t crack the American’s serve in the second set. Anisimova stamped eight straight holds defeating the world No. 38 for the second time in as many meetings.

Former French Open girls’ finalist Anisimova took the court with a 10-3 clay-court record on the season, while Osaka, who was forced out of Rome with an Achilles injury she sustained in Madrid, was playing just her third match on dirt this season.

That dirt disparity was most evident when things got tight. From love-30 down, Anisimova reeled off four points in a row pumping a running forehand winner to even after eight games.

Deadlocked at 5-all, Osaka fought off three break points, including zapping an ace off the T on the second. The four-time Grand Slam champion succumbed to the pressure tripping a double-fault off the tape as Anisimova broke for 6-5.

Swinging freely, Anisimova cranked a crosscourt forehand capping the 46-minute opener with the first love hold of the day.

The Japanese’s lack of recent match play proved costly in the seventh game of set two.

The 28th-seeded Anisimova broke a string, but managed to keep some slice shots in play despite the ruptured string bed. Osaka had Anisimova in trouble, but failed to capitalize slapping a forehand into net. In a sloppy two double-fault game, Osaka double-faulted off the tape handing the 2019 semifinalist the break and a 4-3 lead.

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Anisimova battled back from triple break point down to back up the break. The American lasered her fifth ace down the T for game point and lashed a forehand inside the sideline consolidating for 5-3.

A light rain was falling as Anisimova served for the match. Anisimova fired a forehand winner down the line for triple match point.

Netting a pair of errors, Anisimova blasted a backhand down the line off the sideline and broke into a wide smile with a confident straight-sets win.

 

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