Taking an indefinite leave of absence for mental health reasons last year has done wonders for the spirit – and game – of American Amanda Anisimova. On Friday in Melbourne Park the 22-year-old continued her renaissance, notching a 7-5, 6-4 victory over Paula Badosa to reach the round of 16 in Melbourne for the third time.
“I think taking a step away and just really being at home, just resetting myself, gave me a different perspective going into these tournaments and I really try to be present when I’m here and just really enjoy every second that I’m here,” she said on court after notching her win in 88 minutes. “I think in the past I was getting too caught up in the past and the future.”
Anisimova, ranked No 442, will face the winner of the match between Ukrainian Lesia Tsurenko, the No 28 seed, and Belarusian Aryna Sabalenka, the second seed, next.
She rallied from 4-1 down in the opening set and 11 of the final 16 games, hitting 40 winners against just 18 for Badosa.
The loss marks the end of a comeback for Badosa. The Spaniard finally returned to the court after cutting her 2023 season short due to a back injury.
Anisimova entered 2024 having not played since May of 2023. She took up painting in the interim and started a web site to sell her paintings, with the proceeds going to mental health foundations that she chose.
“It’s quite unbelievable, after taking some time off,” Anisimova said. “But I’m really feeling good, and I think the most important thing is that I’m just enjoying my time out here. I’m just really happy to be playing here and into the next round.”
Anisimova also rallied from 3-2 down in the second set to avoid having to play a decider with Badosa.
“I relaxed completely because honestly I was trying to save all my energy,” she said. “I think the first set took a lot out of me, when I was down 4-1, so it was a very tough fight, and Paula is a very tough competitor – I really had to dig deep there.”
The 22-year-old American won against Russian Liudmila Samsonova, the No 13 seed (6-3, 6-4) and Argentinian Nadia Podoroska (6-2, 6-3) earlier in the tournament.
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In the previous rounds, Badosa, ranked No 100, won against American Taylor Townsend (6-1, 6-3) and Russian Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova (6-2, 6-3).
Melbourne (Grand Slam), other third-round results (Melbourne Park, hard, USD 58.910.000, most recent results first):
- Oceane Dodin vs. Clara Burel
- Qinwen Zheng vs. Yafan Wang
- Anna Kalinskaya vs. Sloane Stephens
- Anna Blinkova vs. Jasmine Paolini
- Emma Navarro vs. Dayana Yastremska
- Jelena Ostapenko vs. Victoria Azarenka
- Elina Svitolina vs. Viktorija Golubic
- Iga Swiatek vs. Linda Noskova
- Storm Hunter vs. Barbora Krejcikova
- Maria Timofeeva vs. Beatriz Haddad Maia
- Mirra Andreeva vs. Diane Parry
- Alycia Parks vs. Coco Gauff
- Elina Avanesyan vs. Marta Kostyuk
- Magdalena Frech vs. Anastasia Zakharova
- Lesia Tsurenko vs. Aryna Sabalenka: friday