Amanda Anisimova reveals torturous way she prepared for US Open quarterfinal against nemesis Iga Swiatek
One would have thought the very last thing Amanda Anisimova would have wanted to do the night before her US Open quarter final against Iga Swiatek would be to watch highlights of her 6-0, 6-0 Wimbledon final defeat by the same opponent – yet that is exactly what she did.
The American got revenge with a 6-4, 6-3 victory and afterwards talked about how she had processed that All England Club defeat.
‘At the time I just kind of forgot about it and moved on,’ said the 24-year-old. ‘Really didn’t dissect anything about it.
‘But last night… nobody told me to, but I watched them back, as painful as it was, just to see, what I can avoid or what went wrong. Then after I had to watch some good highlights to remove that from my brain.
‘I think it was important for me to see what happened going into today’s match, but back then it was just, move on. It’s a freak thing that happened.’
Asked what her reflections were on the Wimbledon final, watching it for the first time, Anisimova said: ‘That I was slow as hell! My reactions were just… I was so slow.
Amanda Anisimova could hardly believe it after she thrashed Iga Swiatek at the US Open
It was a far cry from the tears she cried at Wimbledon after losing the final 6-0 6-0 to the Pole
Swiatek won Wimbledon but was knocked out by the American in the US Open quarterfinals
‘But it happens. I’m a human, and people just freeze sometimes. I was also exhausted and that’s definitely something I’m working on is being more physically fit to last two weeks in a Grand Slam.’
Asked about how she went from tears in London to beaming in New York, Anisimova said: ‘Honestly, it was just on the court that I was crying that much. Maybe 30 minutes afterwards, but then I got on the phone with someone and just laughed it off. I was, like, yeah, this is insane.
‘I feel like I was really able to bounce back from it really quickly. Maybe a few years ago I wouldn’t have done the same.
‘Truly the most that I felt bad was for the people that had come to watch that day. I know how much people pay for those tickets and are excited to see Wimbledon. I had that guilt on my back, as opposed to winning my first Grand Slam final. I was thinking about that more.
‘But at the end of the day, to me it was just tennis.’
