Amanda Anisimova is on a path to overcome the memories of last year’s Wimbledon final, starting with a commanding victory over North Macedonia’s Lina Gjorcheska, winning 6-3, 6-2 in the first round on Tuesday.
In the previous year, Anisimova made headlines by defeating Aryna Sabalenka to earn her spot in the grand slam final, only to falter dramatically against Iga Swiatek, suffering a 6-0, 6-0 defeat that was one of the more painful moments in sports. Despite the overwhelming loss, she quickly recovered, defeating Swiatek again on her way to the US Open final, where she faced another tough match against Sabalenka.
Although she played on Court No 2 instead of Centre Court on Tuesday, Anisimova relished the opportunity, potentially alleviating some of her past disappointments.
“It was a year ago, so it’s not like I started playing this match thinking about the final or anything last year,”
she remarked. “I stepped out and I was really excited to play, feeling really good. So I just wanted to see where my level is at and challenge myself out there, try to play my game and do all the things that I have been doing in practice. “Court No 2 isn’t such a small court. I mean, still, it’s a big stadium. [But] hopefully I will be playing on Centre Court again this week, because I feel like I thrive and play my best tennis on the bigger courts.”
“Feeling like I’m in a much better place now,”
Anisimova shared that she felt rejuvenated following a brief hiatus, having been drained by her recent experiences after returning from a wrist injury that sidelined her from the Masters clay-court events in Madrid and Rome.
“I think the last two months really took a lot out of me, and just the start of the year, it wasn’t the best way to start things out. It was definitely a bit of a strange experience, having to train and train and not knowing if I’m ready to play the tournaments. I was also working hard and doing my best and I think I just got a bit tired at the end of that.”
she stated. “She was playing quite high, I would say, for grass court,”
In contrast, Elena Rybakina demonstrated her champion’s tenacity, overcoming a challenging second set to defeat France’s Loïs Boisson with a score of 6-4, 1-6, 6-3.
“For me, it was difficult to actually adjust to these higher balls. And then getting short slices was a bit challenging. In the end, I’m happy that I managed to win it. Definitely will need to work more on these kind of things. Serve was working on and off. The percentage I would love to have higher, but this is something for me also to improve for the next matches.”
the 2022 champion remarked. “For me, it was difficult to actually adjust to these higher balls. And then getting short slices was a bit challenging. In the end, I’m happy that I managed to win it. Definitely will need to work more on these kind of things. Serve was working on and off. The percentage I would love to have higher, but this is something for me also to improve for the next matches.”
Madison Keys, who clinched her first grand slam title in Australia last year, had her share of challenges too, rallying from a set down to secure a win against Australia’s Taylor Day, finishing 6-7 (5), 6-4, 6-3. Jasmine Paolini, the runner-up two years prior, labeled her match against American Robin Montgomery as her finest of the year after recovering from a first-set bagel. However, Elina Svitolina, the eighth seed, faced an unexpected exit, losing 7-5, 6-2 to fellow Ukrainian Dara Snigur, currently ranked No 77 in the world.
