Playing in only her third tournament as a professional, 16-year-old Amanda Anisimova has scored her first ever win over a top 10 player at the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells.
The American wild card produced a performance that exceeded her age as she edged her way past two-time Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova 6-2, 6-4, in the third round. Experience was proven irrelevant in the encounter as Anisimova capitalized on the inconsistencies of her rival. Who hit 10 winners to 29 unforced errors.
“It feels so crazy. I mean, I’m like shaking right now. It is the biggest stage I have ever played on against the strongest person I have ever played in a tournament. It’s just crazy.” Anisimova said during her on-court interview.
Playing on the main stadium of the event, the rising star was never intimidated by the experience. Breaking immediately at the start of the match. Meanwhile Kvitova, who was on a 14-match winning streak, struggled with her play as she hit 11 errors to only two winners during the opening set. Allowing Anisimova to seal a 6-2 lead after just 29 minutes of play.
The American experience more resistance during the second set as Kvitova broke at the start to revive her chances. Still, it was not enough to deny Anisimova as her rival once again faltered. A game away from the biggest win of her career, another lacklustre Kvitova service game handed her a trio of match points. She was able to convert her first after a forehand from the Czech slammed into the net.
“She was playing really well today. I was just trying to stay focused. But at the same time I was like ‘oh my god.’ I was so nervous, but I was trying my best to forget about it.” The teenager reflected.
As the youngest played in the draw, Anisimova is the first player to reach the fourth round of Indian Wells at the age of 16 since 2005. She was able to play at the event after finishing the second-best performer at Oracle Challenger Series of WTA 125k events.
Due to her age, Anisimova is only permitted to play 16 tournaments a year under rules to protect the health of young players. She has already risen 600 places up the WTA rankings over the past 13 months to 149th. That position will be improved further following her Indian Wells run.
The reigning US Open girls champion will play either Karolina Pliskova or Zhang Shuai in the fourth round.
