It was a glorious performance from the fearless teenager ranked 87th in the world, as one of the pre-tournament favourites was taken out with a combination of devastating baseline hitting and serves in 65 minutes. Sabalenka's rise up the WTA rankings to 11th in the world has not encountered many roadblocks along the way, but she appeared lost in the first set in the face of a very good performance from the 2017 Junior US Open champion. WTA Madrid Fatigue a 'good problem' to have, says Barty 10/05/2021 AT 07:11 'You are kidding me!' - Unreal winner from teen sensation Anisimova Anisimova was handed three set points after a second successive double fault from her opponent, and the American held her nerve to draw first blood. Sabalenka looked short on ideas throughout, and had no answer to the depth and pace on the forehand coming from the opposite side of the net as she was broken with her first service game in the second set. The quality of points from Anisimova continued to flow and she will now face the winner of Petra Kvitova's clash with Belinda Bencic for a place in the quarter-finals. Anisimova can barely contain her joy after securing the win Image credit: Getty Images "It's an unreal feeling. I cannot believe this is happening right now," Anisimova told Eurosport. "I was expecting a really tough match, she's a great player, so I really can't believe I got through this round. 'I'm feeling great out here and I am really playing some good tennis." WTA Stuttgart Barty wins second clay title with comeback win over Sabalenka 25/04/2021 AT 14:47<doc-sep>“There isn’t a teenager who would have won the first round against Niculescu besides Amanda,” said her agent, Max Eisenbud. “That match, until today’s match, was her most impressive win. The way Niculescu slices and throws everything at you, it was getting tight, and she was able to perform. A crafty, experienced girl who threw everything at her, and she still won in straight sets.” Eisenbud also represents the player to whom Anisimova is most often compared: Maria Sharapova. While he said that comparisons between the two — blondes with Russian roots who stormed the tennis stage at a young age — were unfair to both, he observed that Anisimova and Sharapova did share a diligent work ethic and an ability not to be fazed in the biggest moments. Frances Tiafoe, who also reached the second week of a Grand Slam for the first time on Friday, gushed over Anisimova, in his own way. “It’s like she’s been a veteran,” Tiafoe said. “She’s going out here, and Sabalenka is playing great tennis — she routined her like it was nothing. It was barbecue chicken for her. It’s unbelievable.” In her news conference Friday, Anisimova said that her confidence was growing. “I believe in myself so much more than I ever did in this tournament,” she said. “It’s just trusting myself. That’s why I have been also playing really well.” That confidence leads her to hope she can follow in Sharapova’s footsteps in another way: by becoming a Grand Slam champion as a teenager. Asked what her dream was for her career, Anisimova expressed a desire for instant gratification. “I want to win this tournament — right now,” she said, smiling. Anisimova, who broke through at the junior level by winning the 2017 United States Open girls’ title, complements her desire for immediacy with an uncommon curiosity about the past, expressing her admiration for Billie Jean King, the pioneer who played a formative role in getting women’s professional tennis off the ground.<doc-sep>MELBOURNE, Australia — Amanda Anisimova upset 11th-seeded Aryna Sabalenka, 6-3, 6-2, to reach the fourth round of the Australian Open, her best showing at a major tournament. Anisimova, a 17-year-old American, is the youngest player still in contention in the women’s draw at Melbourne Park and has dropped just seven games against seeded players in the last two rounds. She broke Sabalenka’s serve four times in the 65-minute match and fended off the only break point she faced. Anisimova, who beat No. 24 Lesia Tsurenko, 6-0, 6-2, in the second round, had first-round exits in her two previous appearances in the main draw of major tournaments. Sabalenka won the title at Shenzhen to start the season and reached the fourth round at last year’s U.S. Open.<doc-sep>The Telegraph Two of the surprise packages of this clay-court season have been British – initially Dan Evans, who made a deep run in Monte Carlo, and more lately Cameron Norrie, who played his second final in three weeks on Sunday. Unfortunately, Norrie wasn’t able to land a maiden ATP title in Lyon. But then he was up against Stefanos Tsitsipas, who has been the dominant force of 2021 outside the slams, and now stands at No 1 in the table of most rankings points gained since January 1. Nevertheless, it had been a hugely creditable effort for Norrie to go this far, especially when you consider that he took out top seed Dominic Thiem on Thursday, and then trounced big-hitting Russian Karen Khachanov in Saturday’s semi-final, losing only two games in the process. Norrie has come to clay late in his career, but it feels like this is developing into his favourite surface. He has one of the heaviest left-handed forehands in the game, loaded with top-spin, and uses it like a miniature version of Rafael Nadal. The result has been a tally of 14 wins and only four losses since he began his European clay-court swing in Barcelona. So while the French Open, which starts next Sunday, has traditionally been a graveyard of British hopes, there are reasons to hope that this year’s event could deliver some more positive results. Norrie’s previous final in Estoril had been a nervewracking affair which he eventually lost on a deciding-set tie-break to the more experienced Spaniard Albert Ramos-Vinolas. Sunday was more straightforward for Tsitsipas, who needed only 69 minutes to hammer home a 6-3, 6-3 victory. It was Tsitsipas’ second title of the clay-court sequence, after he won Monte Carlo in mid-April, taking out Evans in the semi-final along the way. He has become a serious contender to upset the establishment – specifically Nadal and Novak Djokovic – at Roland Garros over the next few weeks. “I felt in good shape from the beginning of the tournament,” said Tsitsipas afterwards. “I am proud of today’s match, I knew it would be a difficult one against Cameron, who has been showing great tennis this week. He has been winning against good players and showing what the left hand can do on clay. “It was not an easy match today. I had to handle the nerves and I am proud of my performance and the way I stayed focused towards my goal.” On this year’s results, meanwhile, both Evans and Norrie stand among the world’s 20 most successful men. Evans is at No 16 and Norrie No 14. The next challenge for them both is to convert that ATP Tour form into a deep run at a major.<doc-sep>
American teenager Amanda Anisimova upstaged 11th seed Aryna Sabalenka 6-3, 6-2, hitting her way into the fourth round of the Australian Open on Friday. The fearless 17-year-old bullied her much higher ranked opponent who looked shell-shocked by the power being generated at the other end of the court. It was Anisimova's third consecutive straight sets win, which included a 6-0 6-2 destruction of 24th seed Lesia Tsurenko, signalling the arrival of a genuine new talent in the women's game. American teenager Amanda Anisimova pulled off a shock in the Margaret Court Arena Anisimova produced an impressive straight-sets win to beat 11th seed Aryna Sabalenka The Belarus competitor was bitterly disappointed having retained ambitions of pushing on Anisimova, the youngest competitor in the draw, will play the winner of Petra Kvitova and Belinda Bencic in the fourth round. In an emotional interview with Eurosport on court, the teenager said: 'It's an unreal feeling. I cannot believe this is happening right now. 'I was expecting a really tough match, she's a great player, so I really can't believe I got through this round. 'I'm feeling great out here and I am really playing some good tennis.' Anisimova unleashed a dominant serve and absorbed the energy from a buoyant support Pundits and experts had high hopes for Sabalenka but she had no answers on Friday afternoon Anisimova's win means she is now the youngest American to reach the fourth round of a major since Serena Williams in 1998, and the youngest in Melbourne since Jennifer Capriati back in 1993. But no teenager has gone on to win a Slam since Maria Sharapova in 2006 at the US Open. The Russian was 19 when she lifted the trophy in New York. Sharapova was in action later in the schedule as she took on defending champion Caroline Wozniacki but whether she progresses or not, the Russian remains a constant source of inspiration for the American teen. 'Maria is someone I have looked up to so much,' Anisimova added. 'I still look up to her this day. She's an amazing athlete and she's a great person to. She's definitely someone I look up to and I would like to be the second teenager to win a Slam!' Anisimova is aiming to become just the first teenager since 2006 to win a Grand Slam title