NEW DELHI: There’s a powerful and inspiring motto on the hit Apple TV+ series Ted Lasso where Coach Lasso (Jason Sudekis) asks player Sam Obisanya (Toheeb Jimoh) to “be a goldfish”, effectively urging him to forget what just happened and start afresh.Amanda Anisimova, possibly, saw that episode and embraced it to the tee. On 12 July, she lost 0-6, 0-6 in her first Grand Slam final at Wimbledon, the most lopsided women’s final at SW19 in 114 years. Two days ago, 52 days after that hammering, Anisimova got her revenge over Iga Swiatek in the US Open semi-final.On Thursday-turned-into-Friday, she booked her place in the US Open final after beating former World No. 1 and four-time major champion Naomi Osaka 6-7, 7-6, 6-3 in a match that finished at almost 1am, unfortunately in front of sparse crowd.
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On Saturday, Anisimova, 24, will once again look to win her first major title, 61 miles from where she was born in New Jersey. In her path will be defending champion Aryna Sabalenka, who has not missed a Grand Slam final on hard courts since 2022.
Anisimova vs Sabalenka, too, will be a repeat of a Wimbledon contest where the American stunned the Belarussian in the semi-final.“I felt like I wasn’t playing my tennis because I was nervous, and I was letting the stress get to me a little bit, but then I tried to dig deep and find my game,” said Anisimova in the post-match press conference.
“I just keep telling myself that I can do it, and I believe in myself. I keep saying that over and over again, not just in the match, but the whole day.“But I really try and tell my brain, or I guess I feel like manifest it or visualise it, then it will happen. I just try and stay upbeat and positive.”At one point in the second set, after six breaks of serves were exchanged, member in her team chimed in and told her to “stop making excuses.” She tried to keep herself upbeat as well by clenching her fist after crucial moments and yelling out, ‘let’s *-ing go!’
Even before the first ball was hit, Anisimova would have thought the odds were stacked against her. Osaka had never lost at a major when she made at least the quarterfinals.Then as errors continued to flow off the American’s racket, that belief would have been strengthened. Only once before had Osaka lost at a major after winning the opening set.With 23 unforced errors in comparison to Osaka’s 10, Anisimova, whose parents hail from Russia, stayed in it. At least the winner count was in the 24-year-old’s favour (17 to 9).By the end of the 2-hour-56-minute match, that trend continued as Anisimova displayed more errors (45-27) but edged out the two-time US Open winner due to her thumping winners tally (50-32).
“Today, I could have easily said, ‘Oh, she’s playing better than me, and I can’t really do anything,'” said Anisimova.“I really tried to find a way, any way, I could to stay in the match, even though it was extremely tough, and she was playing really great tennis.“I have really worked on myself to really be able to handle those moments and to believe in myself, even when it feels like what is there to believe in, in a way, like, when you’re not playing that well.”It took three match points for Anisimova to get past the finish line. And with foray into the final, she’s kept the flag flying for the American women even if the drought among the men continues. An American has featured in five straight Grand Slams now – Jessica Pegula, Madison Keys, Coco Gauff and Anisimova twice.With Anisimova reaching the final at both Wimbledon and the US Open, it is the first time since 2002 that at least one American woman has appeared in all four major finals in a single calendar year. Further, at least one American woman has featured in a Grand Slam final in a calendar year since 2007.When Anisimova steps on the court on Saturday, to win her first major title, it would be with the knowledge that she has to become that goldfish all over again. New day, new final.
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