"Few players hit the ball as hard and flat, or with as much precision, as Anisimova does, and no one has a sweeter or more vicious backhand. To watch her line up, wind up, and sweep her racquet along the arc created by her powerful rotation-her legs perfectly weighted, her spacing properly calculated, her contact point pure-is to realize the full potential of the shot."
"She won the first set easily, 6-1, and was up a service break in the second; then her control of the match started to slip away. Siniaková, the No. 1 doubles player in the world, started to muck things up, and Anisimova's serve began to stray. Two endless exchanges of deuces ended in Siniaková's favor. Anisimova pressed. After a backhand flew long, her hands flew to her hips in frustration. Anisimova won the third consecutive deuce game, but double-faulted twice."
Amanda Anisimova displayed exceptional power, flat precision, and a notably potent backhand during a second-round Australian Open match against Kateřina Siniaková. She dominated early, taking the first set 6-1 and building a break lead in the second before control began to waver. Siniaková, a top doubles player, disrupted rhythm while Anisimova's serve strayed and several long deuce games favored the opponent. Frustration showed after errors and two double faults, leaving the match finely balanced. After a terse exchange with her box she regained composure, closed out the win, and expressed an affinity for intense moments despite past big-stage humiliations.
Read at The New Yorker
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]