Amanda Anisimova reaches first Masters 1000 final after beating fellow American Emma Navarro in Toronto - 'It's crazy'
By Matt Jones
Published 11/08/2024 at 23:49 GMT+1
Amanda Anisimova is celebrating reaching her first Masters 1000 final at the Canada Open. The 22-year-old beat fellow American Emma Navarro in three sets in Toronto. It continues a stunning week for the former French Open semi-finalist, who has now beaten four top-20 ranked players in the last week. She says what she has achieved is "crazy" and that she is "really happy" with her performances.
Amanda Anisimova of the United States celebrates her victory over Emma Navarro of the United States during Day 6 of the National Bank Open, part of the Hologic WTA Tour at Sobeys Stadium on August 11, 2024 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Image credit: Getty Images
Amanda Anisimova admits she is living in dreamland after reaching a Masters 1000 final for the first time.
The 22-year-old beat Emma Navarro 6-3 2-6 6-2 in Toronto.
It means she has backed up her stunning victory over two-time grand slam champion Aryna Sabalenka in the last eight.
And the American, who reached the semi-finals of the French Open as a 17-year-old, says she cannot believe what she has achieved over the last few days.
"It's crazy. I'm so happy. It was a tough battle out there, especially with the conditions today," she smiled.
"It was super stressful, so I'm just so relieved.
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"Every match, I try to bring my best tennis and just be there every point, mentally all there.
"It's not easy playing top players almost every match, so I'm just really happy with how I've been performing."
Anisimova came into this week ranked No.132 in the world, but is now due to rise inside the top 50.
She has previously been as high as 21 in October 2019.
Her position in the standings dropped last year though, when she took eight months off to look after her mental health.
But the hard work is now paying off, with Navarro the fourth top 20 player she has beaten this week.
She took the first set in just 28 minutes, in which she also dropped just three points behind her own serve.
Navarro, the No. 8 seed, improved in the second, but Anisimova's winner count far out-weighed that of her fellow American.
That meant she eventually prevailed in just under two hours in strong winds in Canada.
"It was tough out there again today, super windy, struggled on my serve a little bit just with the wind," said Navarro.
"I had some good moments with it and some not-so-good moments with it, as did she.
"In the end, she handled the conditions probably better than I did. She hits a really big, flat ball, and it's definitely tough to handle."
Anisimova will face either Jessica Pegula or Diana Shnaider in the final.
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