Eight weeks after her 6-0 6-0 Wimbledon final defeat to Iga Swiatek, the 24-year-old from New Jersey has given herself another chance to win a grand slam title at the first opportunity. After avenging her defeat to Swiatek in the quarter-finals<\/a>, Anisimova went one step further by overturning Naomi Osaka\u2019s lead in a back-and-forth semi-final across almost three hours, setting up a final against the World No 1 Aryna Sabalenka<\/a>. <\/p>\n Perhaps an attacking game and talent that is as pure as Anisimova\u2019s was always destined to shine at the US Open, the grand slam where big, first-strike hitting usually always comes out on top. But there is also an argument that without the humiliation Anisimova suffered on Centre Court, there would have been no US Open final just 54 days later. <\/p>\n open image in gallery<\/p>\n Anisimova pats the court after reaching the US Open final (Getty Images)<\/p>\n \u201cI think it just shows that I have worked really hard, especially on my mental game and not giving up,\u201d Anisimova said. \u201cLike today, I could have easily said, \u2018oh, she’s playing better than me, and I can’t really do anything\u2019. I really tried to find any way I could to stay in the match, even though it was extremely tough, and she was playing really great tennis.<\/p>\n \u201cI think I have really worked on myself to really be able to handle those moments and to believe in myself, even when it feels like what is there to believe in, when you’re not playing that well. I think I have really done a better job of that, and especially since the Wimbledon final. I think I have really shifted with my attitude as well.\u201d<\/p>\n For the second match in a row, Anisimova started slowly and took her time to settle. She was broken in her opening game, then faced 0-40 to prevent the double break. But Anisimova hung on, just as she did towards the end of the second set when the American broke Osaka from 40-0 down. <\/p>\n Even though Osaka won the first set anyway, and even though Anisimova was broken back immediately after the 4-4 game in the second, her growing confidence was one of the only constants in a match played out without any real rhythm or pattern, with wild momentum swings not allowing either player to pull away. <\/p>\n \u201cI felt like I wasn’t playing my tennis because I was nervous, and I was letting the stress get to me a little bit, but then I tried to dig deep and find my game,\u201d Anisimova said. \u201cI feel like throughout the match I was able to find it more and more, and yeah, the most important thing was that I kept fighting.\u201d <\/p>\n open image in gallery<\/p>\n Anisimova faces Sabalenka on the brink of the ultimate redemption (AP)<\/p>\n It culminated in Anisimova taking to the second-set tiebreak and scorching through Osaka with a sublime backhand winner, perhaps the finest of the 50 she sprayed across the court. <\/p>\n Even as match passed midnight and ticked towards the three-hour mark, Anisimova found she was able to hit through the court with more power and clarity. It was, by the end, the \u201cno fear\u201d approach that Anisimova wanted to bring. <\/p>\n The manner in which Anisimova reacted to the horror of the Wimbledon final has allowed a mental transformation that may not have occurred without the nightmare of what unfolded eight weeks ago, allowing the resilience she has shown to shine under the pressure of being the last American standing. <\/p>\n![\"Anisimova](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/GettyImages-2233780824.jpeg\")
<\/p>\n![\"Anisimova](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/1757080690_238_SEI264706025.jpeg\")
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