Anisimova downs Sabalenka, reaches maiden Wimbledon final

London [UK], July 10 (ANI): Amidst the hot, baking temperatures at Wimbledon, the number 13th seed Amanda Anisimova achieved her maiden Grand Slam final, downing the world number one Aryna Sabalenka in the semifinals on Thursday.
Amanda kept a calm head as she secured a 6-4, 4-6, 6-4 in 2 hours and 37 minutes, dropping a set in between.
This result is now Amanda's sixth-ever win against a top-five player and the first-ever over the top-ranked player. Four of these top five wins have come against Sabalenka herself, improving her head-to-head record to 6-3, notching wins at every surface.
This year on grass surfaces, Amanda has an incredible record of 12 wins and just two losses, having made it to the finals of Queen's Championships four weeks back and following it with a quarterfinal finish at Berlin.
The 23-year-old also is now the first-ever player from this century to reach the Wimbledon final. Iga Swiatek could become the second if she defeats Belinda Bencic in the second semifinal.
Amanda is the seventh player from the 21st century to reach the finals of any Grand Slam event, after Bianca Andreescu, Swiatek, Emma Raducanu, Leylah Fernandez, Coco Gauff, and Zheng Qinwen.
Sabalenka's poor run at the Wimbledon semifinals continues, having lost all three she featured in to Karolina Pliskova in 2021 and Ons Jabeur in 2023. Her 12 semifinals across her career in major tournaments are the most by a player since Maria Sharapova, having secured three majors so far, two Australian Open (2023 and 2024) and a US Open (2024). (ANI)