Nick Kyrgios shares his thoughts on Amanda Anisimova ahead of the Wimbledon final.
Like many the Australian has been watching the progress of the 23-year-old at the All-England Club.
The 23-year-old carried her impressive grass court form into Wimbledon and she will now compete in her first Grand Slam final.
Anisimova defeated Aryna Sabalenka to reach the championship match and standing between her and the biggest title of her career is former world number one Iga Swiatek.
Photo by GLYN KIRK/AFP via Getty ImagesNick Kyrgios says what it was like hitting with former doubles partner Amanda Anisimova
Amanda Anisimova has come a long way since she took time away from the WTA Tour to focus on her mental health in 2023.
She fell out of the top 400, but two years later she is in the Wimbledon final and will become a top 10 player on Monday.
Nick Kyrgios had the opportunity to play doubles with Anisimova earlier in her career, and from their time playing and practicing together, he knew she had the ability to do well at Wimbledon.
“I played with her when she was extremely new to the Tour. She always had a lot of potential. She went off the tour for about a year to deal with some mental health stuff and get that right,” Kyrgios told talkSPORT about Anisimova.
“She was 400 in the world when she took a year off and now she comes back and solidifies herself in the top 10 and is now a Grand Slam finalist.
“She always had a dangerous game in my eyes. I hit with her a lot and played doubles with her. She always hit the ball really flat and she had one of the best backhands in the world, for sure. I thought Wimbledon was always a really good place for her to do well.
“She does not move maybe as great as some of the other players but she hits the ball big, aggressive, and takes time away. So I am not surprised to see her finally breaking through and having that breakthrough.”
Photo by Mike Owen/Getty ImagesNick Kyrgios and Amanda Anisimova played doubles at the 2020 Australian Open
Kyrgios had the opportunity to play doubles with Wimbledon finalist Anisimova in 2020.
The pair joined forces to enter the mixed doubles competition at the Australian Open, when Anisimova was just 18.
The pair won their opening match against Monique Adamczak and David Vega Hernández 7-5, 6-4.
In round two Kyrgios and Anisimova took on 2024 Wimbledon winner Barbora Krejčíková and Nikola Mektić, who were seeded fifth at the time.
Kyrgios and Anisimova took the first set but their opponents levelled the match by taking set two. Therefore, the match would be decided with a super tiebreak to 10 points.
Anisimova and Kyrgios suffered a narrow 6-4, 4-6, 8-10 defeat to end their run and that was the last time they played doubles together, at least for now.