LONDON (AP) — Amanda Anisimova brought her nephew, Jackson, onto the grass at Wimbledon's No. 1 Court to help celebrate reaching her first Grand Slam semifinal in six years after saving five set points in a “super stressful” tiebreaker and finally converting her fourth match point Tuesday for a 6-1, 7-6 (9) victory over Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova.
Anisimova first got to the final four at a major tournament at the 2019 French Open at age 17. In 2023, she took a break from the tour, saying she had been “ struggling with my mental health and burnout ” for nearly a year.
Now 23, the American is playing as well as ever. She is seeded 13th at the All England Club and guaranteed to make her debut in the top 10 after the tournament — 12 months after losing in qualifying and not getting into the main bracket.
“I mean, its been an extraordinary year for me. So many highs. It's just been such a ride, and I've been enjoying every step of the way,” said Anisimova, who takes on No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka on Thursday for a berth in the final. “Even times like today, when you're not sure you're going to cross the finish line, I keep reminding myself to enjoy the moment.”
She built a huge early lead, dominating the first set and going up 5-2 in the second. Anisimova then held her first two match points at 5-4, but didn't cash in.
“She started to play some unreal tennis,” Anisimova said, “and I just kept fighting.”
In the tiebreaker, she fell behind 6-3 against Pavlyuchenkova, a Russian ranked 50th who was robbed of a point when the electronic line-calling system accidentally was turned off during a Centre Court match.
Anisimova, who compiled a 26-9 advantage in winners, would not allow her opponent to force a third set, using her terrific backhand to repeatedly end points or force mistakes from 2021 French Open runner-up Pavlyuchenkova.
A third match point arrived at 9-8 in the tiebreaker, but Anisimova sent a forehand return wide and let out a yell.
When she closed the match with a 109 mph serve that drew a netted return, Anisimova fell face-down on the court, before rising with a smile as wide as can be. After Pavlyuchenkova walked around the net for an embrace, Anisimova covered her face with her hands, then wrapped both arms around her chest for a self-hug.
Soon, she was headed over to the stands to pick up Jackson, who arrived in England on Tuesday morning with his mother, who is Anisimova's sister, and father. Jackson turns 4 on Thursday.
“I’m just super grateful that they flew in and got to experience this with me,” Anisimova said. “It doesn’t happen often, so it’s just super special.”
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AP tennis: https://apnews.com/hub/tennis
