Ash Party turns to style to end Australian Open Amanda Anisimova | Australian Open 2022

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When Amanda Anisimova was 16, she was described as the next Maria Sharapova, partly because of her marketability but also for her groundbreaking steps. Recently, Serena Williams’ coach, Patrick Moratoglu, likened her to Lindsay Davenport because of her flawless timing.

Sunday night was, in some ways, a show of both, and against other opponents, perhaps that was enough. Two days ago, against Naomi Osaka, it was like that. This time, even though Anisimova became the first player at this year’s Australian Open to break Ash Party’s serve, she only won the battle, not the war.

I read the scorecard 6-4, 6-3 for Barty, a fitting summary of a match in which the unranked American showed her growing influence in the Grand Slam, but was well defeated by the world number one, based on her form in her first four matches. Tours, is on track to claim her first major title for her country in 44 years.

Last week Rod Laver described Party as “unbeatable” at its best. Anisimova did her best to prove him wrong. So far, no one in the match has crossed her one hour mark. The 20-year-old lasted an hour and 14 minutes. She finished the Australian Championship’s 63-pass serving streak to advance 2-0 in the second set, all providing the first real test of her top seed credentials.

But Barty broke her back straight, then proceeded to win five of the remaining six matches to end the match. And as Anisimova’s attacking mentality made her role there, her inability to neutralize Barty’s formidable group put her on a sway for most of the competition.

“She’s a great athlete, and an incredible competitor,” Barty said of her defeated opponent. “One of her best traits is that she shows point by point. It’s nice to see her back playing her best tennis. She’s a champion. She’s going to be in a lot of deep stages for many disciplines in her future, that’s for sure.”

“I enjoy sharing the pitch, testing my game against her – she has a great game. It was good to be able to hold out and put points back into my patterns more regularly, and big points when it matters most.”

Amanda Anisimova (left) congratulates her opponent after the match. Photo: William West/AFP/Getty Images

They were honest words from a player at the top of the sport about someone who is rapidly falling into that direction after two deeply crippling years. Anisimova was 17 and was already the US Open junior champion when she rocked Barty in the 2019 Roland Garros semi-finals, leading the group and three matches before the Australian turned the tables on her way to the title.

The sudden death of her father and coach, Constantine, shortly thereafter brought tennis to a halt, and her career ranking of 21 has since fallen to 60. The recent recovery coincided with Darren Cahill training on a trial basis, which bore fruit this year when Anisimova won her title 2nd in the WTA Tour Melbourne Summer Group Warm-Up event.

However, Barty is by far the best since the French Open final. She altered her shots at will and made an impressive return from a 182kph serve. In the first set 3-3, she had Anisimova speeding between the trams as she was doing an audio audition and earned a three point break for her troubles.

The 25-year-old will play her fourth consecutive Australian Open quarter-final on Tuesday against another American – seeded 21st Jessica Pegula, who beat Greek fifth seed Maria Sakkari in straight rounds on Sunday – aiming to become the first local to win. Championship since Chris O’Neill in 1978.

“She’s able to hold the baseline really well,” Barty said of Pegula. “Her swings are completely linear and you get the racket behind the ball and swing into the trajectory. The ball comes towards you in a different trajectory, and her ability to absorb speed and then add to it when you want is exceptional.

“It’s going to be a challenge for me to try and push her off that baseline and make her uncomfortable and feel like she has to get creative. But I know she’s going to do the same to me and try to make me uncomfortable. That’s the game of chess we play. She goes in there and enjoys it, you know who He can perform better on the day, and that’s all there is to it.”

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