Champ Osaka bows out to on-song Anisimova
Defending champion Naomi Osaka is out of the Australian Open after a third-round defeat by American Amanda Anisimova.
Osaka has returned to the sport this month after two breaks last season to protect her mental health, and had comfortably won her first two matches. But in 20-year-old Anisimovashecameupagainst a player in red-hot form and Osaka was beaten in a decidingfirst-to-10-pointstie-break, losing 4-6 6-3 7-6 (5).
The result will be particularly disappointing because Osakaheldtwomatchpointsat 4-5 in the deciding set, but Anisimova saved them both and will go forward to face world No.1 Ashleigh Barty.
Anisimova reached the French Open semi-finals as a 17-year-old, but had struggled since the death of her father and coach Konstantin later in 2019. She is ranked only 60th in the world but is unbeaten in 2022.
Anisimova is cut from the same cloth as Osaka in terms of the crispness and power of herball-strikingandthiswasa heavyweight contest from the start. Osaka played a calm and composed first set but Anisimova cut down on her errors inthesecondtolevelthematch andtherewasvirtuallynothing to choose between the two in a high-quality decider.
Anisimova edged in front early in the tie-break, though, andwasalmostflawless,dropping her racket to the court in disbelief after clinching victory with an ace on her first match point.
“Going into this match I knewIhadtobeplayingsharp,” said Anisimova. “Naomi is an absolute champion so I knew I had to step up my game. I’m so grateful I was able to play so well and get this win. It means a lot.”