American Amanda Anisimova will face-off against Poland’s Iga Świątek in the women’s final at Wimbledon on Saturday – marking the first time Anisimova and Świątek have faced each other on the professional tour.
13th-seeded Anisimova, 23, defeated world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka in a 6-4, 4-6, 6-4 win on Thursday in the semifinals, marking the first time Anisimova has advanced to the Wimbledon final in her career. It is also Anisimova’s first grand-slam final, after she lost to eventual champion Ashleigh Barty in her only previous major semifinal at the 2019 French Open.
Anisimova said after the match: “Iga is such an unbelievable player and she’s also been an inspiration to me. Her work ethic and all of her achievements have been really inspiring. I’m sure it’ll be an amazing match. Getting to compete against an unbelievable player again is going to be super special. Hopefully, I can bring some high quality tennis and make it a battle out there. But I’m just gonna go out and enjoy every moment and try to not think about what’s on the line.”
Świątek dominated Switzerland’s Belinda Bencic 6-2, 6-0 in their semifinals match to reach the final at Wimbledon for the first time in her career, as well. Świątek, a five-time Grand Slam champion, wrapped the match up easily, in just 71 minutes with serves at up to 119 mph and twice as many winners, (26), as unforced errors (23).
Świątek said after her match: “Honestly, I never even dreamed that it’s going to be possible for me to play in the final. So I’m just super-excited and proud of myself and I don’t know, tennis keeps surprising me I thought I lived through everything, even though I’m young. I thought I experienced everything on the court. But I didn’t experience playing well on grass. That’s the first time.”
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