(Toronto) Amanda Anisimova will be in the grand final of the Toronto National Bank Open.
The 22-year-old upset eighth seed Emma Navarro 6-3, 2-6, 6-2 in very windy conditions at Sobeys Stadium on Sunday afternoon.
“It’s a huge accomplishment for me,” she said. “I’ve worked so hard to achieve this.”
On Monday, she will face defending champion and third seed Jessica Pegula, who beat Russian Diana Shnaider 6-4, 6-3 in the other semi-final earlier this evening.
Ranked 132e world ranking after taking an eight-month mental health break in 2023, Anisimova admits the past year has definitely not been easy.
“I didn’t want to end my career like this,” she said. “I sacrificed so much (when I was younger) and gave so much to the sport. It wasn’t easy (to come back after a long period of inactivity), but once I started training, it went pretty well.”
An aggressive Anisimova won 12 of the first 13 points against the 15e world player to take a 3-0 lead in the first set.
Navarro started to respond at that point, but Anisimova hit an ace to take a 5-2 lead. She then won the set on her serve 6-3.
Both players were playing in their first WTA 1000 semi-final.
Anisimova took a 2-1 lead after a long service game in the second set, but Navarro broke her opponent three times after that to win 6-2.
Anisimova, who reached the semi-finals at Roland Garros in 2019 at age 17, overcame a 0-40 to 1-1 third set deficit to finally break the 23-year-old American and take a 2-1 lead.
She broke again to take a 5-2 lead and ended the duel with an ace.
In doubles, sisters Leylah and Bianca Fernandez will face their compatriot Gabriela Dabrowski and New Zealander Erin Routliffe in the semi-finals this evening.