Sabalenka Overcomes Her Woes from this Season – Heartbreak for Anisimova – US Open Final

Amanda Anisimova loses her second major final in a row as Sabalenka claims back-to-back US Open titles.

It has been an exhilarating few weeks of hardcourt tennis – leading up to one of the biggest cash prizes we have seen in tennis so far. With $5 million on the line, Aryna Sabalenka and Amanda Anisimova clashed in what was a blockbuster final, but how did things unfold?

Anisimova’s season had been one to admire. Making it to her second major final in a row, she has slowly become one of the biggest names in women’s tennis. Unfortunately, it wasn’t meant to be in either of her finals this year.

The American had shown tremendous grit in July, making it to the final at Wimbledon but sadly losing 6-0/6-0 against Iga Swiatek to lose out on the major title. However, she would have her revenge, destroying Swiatek 6-4/6-3 in the quarter-finals on her way to facing Sabalenka.

Coming into this matchup, Anisimova had a strong winning record against Sabalenka, and after her performance against her in the Wimbledon semi-final only 6 weeks prior, I’m sure she was confident in her ability to match the World No. 1’s power.

She started the game off strong, making an early break to go 3-2 up in games in the first set. With her mix of powerful backhands and intensely deep returns of serve, Anisimova seemed well up to the task of taking down Sabalenka and her dreams of a back-to-back US Open title. Yet her lack of experience and determination showed. She ended the match with 29 unforced errors and 22 winners made, leading to her inevitable loss against the best in the world on hardcourt.

However, do not take anything away from Aryna Sabalenka. After making it to a semi-final or more of every major tournament this year, she was long overdue for her sixth major title.

The true tell of a champion can be shown by how they bounce back from adversity, and Sabalenka is the perfect example. It doesn’t happen often that one person can make it to so many finals in one year and end up losing all of them. So, you could say it was destined for the Belarusian to win the US Open..

Her experience showed, capitalising on the inexperience of the American. Her mix of explosive forehands and monstrous serves ended up being too much for Anisimova, winning 6-3/7-6. It was also Sabalenka’s 19th straight tiebreak win, never once done before, making her victory also record-breaking.

Moving into next season, it’s tough to say whether Sabalenka will match the year that she’s had. Only time will tell if she can go beyond the expectations.