There is no shortage of storylines in the US Open -Final on Saturday between Aryna Sabalenka and Amanda Anisimova.
It is a rematch of a semi-final of Wimbledon from two months ago, won by Anisimova 6-4, 4-6, 6-4. The American now gets the chance to exchange himself in a Grand Slam Championship match, after he was notorious lost to Iga Swiateek 6-0, 6-0 in the All-England Club.
Of course those demons with double bagel are already to rest. Anisimova threw that defeat by beating none other than Swiatek in the US Open quarterfinals on Wednesday and pulled a 6-4, 6-3 upset. The 24-year-old immediately came back in gear to overcome Naomi Osaka 6-7 (4), 7-6 (3), 6-3 in a semi-final of the roller coaster on Thursday evening.
Sabalenka has passed a tough test and scraped Jessica Pegula 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 the first game on Thursday. The world no. 1 plays well, but she has never been dominant during these fourteen days, apart from a routine victory in the fourth round of Cristina Bucsa.
What is especially remarkable is that Anisimova leads their head-to-head series 6-3. The World No. 9 has won two of their three earlier hard meetings and is 3-2 against Sabalenka at Grand Slams.
It is also worthwhile to point out that Sabalenka has struggled in this matchup, although she has blown 43 aces to the 23 of her opponent in their nine encounters. That kind of discrepancy will probably not be visible in Saturday’s showdown. Anisimova has beaten 35 Azen by six rounds, on average more per game than Sabalenka (24 in five games instead of six because she received a quarter -final Walkover from Marketa Vondrousova). The top seed is also more times more times per match-17 in five compared to 18 in six for Anisimova.
Finally, Anisimova will have the crowd firmly by her side. Although Sabalenka has to be prepared for this because she is facing an American in the United States, she has rarely treated this kind of situation well in the past. All in all, this makes this perfect for an Anisimova Van Streek.
Pick: Anisimova in 3
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