Amanda Anisimova has quickly given herself the chance of breaking her Grand Slam duck by reaching her second successive final and now prepares to face defending US Open champion Aryna Sabalenka on Saturday.
US Open top seed and defending champion Aryna Sabalenka will take on Wimbledon runner-up Amanda Anisimova in the women’s singles final in New York City on Saturday (9pm BST).
World number one Sabalenka, who was the second favourite in the ante-post US Open betting behind Wimbledon champion Iga Swiatek, has yet to win a Grand Slam singles title this year and this is her last chance to put that right.
The three-time major singles champion has been battling well at Flushing Meadows but she should still expect a tough test from Anisimova.
The American was trounced 6-0 6-0 by Swiatek in her first Slam final at Wimbledon in July, but she should prove much more resolute in her second major title match on a surface with more regular bounce in front of her home supporters at Flushing Meadows.
Selections
Amanda Anisimova +3.5 games handicap @ 4/5
Amanda Anisimova to win @ 7/4
Talented American will be desperate to set the record straight
Sabalenka, who beat Jessica Pegula in the final of last year’s US Open singles, franked that form when seeing off the Buffalo-based ace 4-6 6-3 6-4 in the semi-finals this year.
The world’s best female player will obviously be tough to beat on Saturday, but Sabalenka may not be at her absolute peak judging by her results in New York this year.
She is still battling well, though, and merits plenty of respect in her role as favourite to retain her crown. But Anisimova has always been a potentially superior performer to Sabalenka and punters should not forget that, especially now that the eighth-seeded American is finally starting to do her talents justice.
It has been a long road for Anisimova, whose brilliance as a teenager was plainly evident. But just a week before the New Jersey native’s 18th birthday in 2019, her father-coach died of a heart attack and it has taken the best part of six years to get over the heartbreak and return to her best.
Anisimova has dropped only two sets in the US Open singles this year, one of which was in her 6-7 7-6 6-3 semi-final victory over the resurgent Naomi Osaka.
Sabalenka’s only dropped set was against Pegula in the last four, while the top seed also enjoyed a rest when handed a quarter-final walkover against Marketa Vondrousova.
Anisimova had won the first set in all of her singles outings until her last-four clash with Osaka. So assuming the final nerves she experienced at Wimbledon don’t return – and part of that can be attributed to Swiatek having her foot fully on the pedal from the outset in London – the outsider could press hard at the start against Sabalenka, who started slower than Pegula in her semi-final.
Backing Anisimova to win at least one set at 3/5 can definitely be considered, but it may be worth plumping for a better price and getting with the outsider with a handicap start of 3.5 games.
Tip 1: Amanda Anisimova +3.5 games handicap @ 4/5
Anisimova could frank Wimbledon form
Anisimova stretched her personal series lead over Sabalenka to 6-3 with victory over the Wimbledon top seed in their All England Club semi-final in the summer and it is worth supporting the 24-year-old Florida-based star to extend her advantage by upending the US Open champion in the Big Apple.
Sabalenka is 9/20 to win her fourth Slam singles title, but there is much better value to be had in backing the outsider at 7/4 to join the ranks of the major winners with victory at Flushing Meadows on Saturday.
Anisimova also leads 2-1 in their previous hard-court meetings, having won their only encounter on that surface in North America, so there is plenty of reason to side with the major maiden.
Tip 2: Amanda Anisimova to win match @ 7/4
