In the Charleston Open, American Amanda Anisimova upsets favourite Aryna Sabalenka
After dropping the first set, Amanda Anisimova recovered to upset top-ranked Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus 3-6, 6-4, and 6-3 on Thursday to advance to the Charleston Open quarterfinals.
In another surprise, CoCo Vandeweghe advanced to the round of eight by defeating Jessica Pegula of the United States, who is ranked 6th in the world. 6-4, 3-6, 6-4 is the final score.
The next seed, Paula Badosa of Spain, dropped her first set before defeating American Claire Liu 3-6, 7-6 (8), 6-1 to advance to the quarterfinals.
Seed number ten The Olympic gold medallist from the previous summer, Belinda Bencic of Switzerland, defeated Madison Keys of the United States 6-4, 6-4.
Ons who are in their fourth year of cultivation Jabeur fulfilled two roles on Thursday, winning both of his games to advance to the quarterfinals. Jabeur’s match with Emma Navarro was called off on Wednesday due to inclement weather, with her winning 6-3, 5-2.
The two met again on Thursday, with Jabeur winning four straight raises to seal the deal.
After that, Jabeur defeated Romanian Irina-Camelia Begu 6-3, 6-2.
She was sad that they had not been able to finish the last match.
“Whatever the case may be,” she continued, “what will be will be.”
“I’m relieved that I was able to finish early in the day. Furthermore, this evening was really dangerous.”
Poland’s Magda Linette had it much worse than Ons. Linette defeated seventh-ranked Leylah Fernandez of Canada 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 PM in a match that was also cleared out on Wednesday.
Linette came back late in the evening to beat Kaia Kanepi of Estonia 6-3, 4-6, 6-2.
Linette advanced after winning 55 games in four hours, 38 minutes, and 16 seconds of tennis.
Begu noticed some melody in the match, according to Jabeur. “However, I’m pleased that I was able to win my serve in the end,” Jabeur remarked.
Sabalenka dominated her first game in over a month and a half on Wednesday, winning the opening set without having to fight for the top.
However, Anisimova, who is ranked 47th on the world, kept track of her beat after the break while Sabalenka made mistakes.
Sabalenka trailed 5-3 after two consecutive twofold blames, and Anisimova had the choice of serving out the set.
Anisimova continued her altercation in the second set, breaking Sabalenka’s serve twice for a 4-0 advantage. Sabalenka drew level at 5-4, but Anisimova sealed the match with her sixth pro and moved to 3-0 against the world’s fifth-ranked player.
Anisimova was ecstatic after winning her third match in as many days. Against Friday, she’ll take on Vandeweghe in the knockout stages.
“It’s a really good result, comparable to what we saw in the quarterfinals, and especially against a favourite,” Anisimova said. “It’s a significant assurance assistance.”
Badosa, too, had a bad start against Liu, who was 21 years old at the time. In the second set, Badosa was ahead 5-3 until Liu won three of the next four games to force the sudden death round. Several times in the tiebreak, Liu was two focuses away from controlling the game, but Badosa rejected each challenge.
Badosa converted her fourth set point with a strike winner to conclude the 72-minute set.
After that, in the third set, Badosa took control and advanced.
She’ll face Bencic in the quarterfinals, who overcame a nearly two-hour rain delay after winning the first set against Keys. Bencic held off the American, who was the final former top dog in the field, when the rain stopped and the floor was dry.
Ukraine’s Anhelina Kalinina defeated France’s Alize Cornet 7-6 (5), 7-5.
Tunisian Jabeur had hoped to play more tennis and finish the match on Wednesday. She just needed a few seconds – and four focuses – to dispatch Navarro, the American. Later Thursday, Jabeur will compete in the third round with Romanian Irina-Camelia Begu.
The competition has been hampered by bad weather for the entire week, and Thursday was no exception. The weather is expected to dry out on Friday and continue until Sunday’s championship match.
