The top women’s tennis player in the world can be her own worst enemy.
After she pulls off a sensational shot one minute, watch out. Aryna Sabalenka is almost certain at times to commit a mistake. But that is only if the stakes are high as they were Thursday in the Wimbledon semifinals. The 27-year-old Belarussian pulled off the unwanted feat numerous times in her surprising 6-4, 4-6, 6-4 loss to American Amanda Anisimova.
Yes, it was a costly day for the top-ranked Sabalenka that had her own share of chances to stay in the running for her first Wimbledon title. But if Anisimova wasn’t standing in her way, Sabalenka seemed to be beating herself.
ANISIMOVA TESTING TALENTS
Anisimova seldom played consecutive bad points. That’s why the 24-year-old could test the talents of former world’s No. 1 Iga Swiatek in Saturday’s women’s final.
Swiatek will not go down easily. She was at her best on Thursday in a 6-2, 6-0 victory over Belinda Bencic. The 24-year-old Polish Wonder already owns four French Open titles and one U.S. Open crown. Now, she has the chance to win her sixth Grand Slam title and convert the Grand Slam Triple Crown of three winning on all three different surfaces.
While Sabalenka wasn’t able to put Anisimova on defense often enough, the quick-hitting Swiatek seemed to always be ready to toss in a crisp ground stroke toward an open court. It was that quick turn-around that enabled Swiatek to quickly dismiss Bencic’s game.
SWIATEK READY TO ADD TO GS TITLES?
Swiatek’s serve was almost unstoppable in the semifinals. The slender 5-8 player from Warsaw hit the spot time-after-time.
Then, it’s her quickness that allows her to jump on any returns and hit them cross court to an open corner that will give her the chance to win Wimbledon for the first time.
The former No. 1-ranked player looks ready to keep adding to her success story again after being seeded a lowly eighth at this Wimbledon.
Swiatek came on the chase for Grand Slam greatness early as a 19-year-old to win her first French title. And now she appears ready to continue achieving Grand Slam success.
James Beck was the 2003 winner of the USTA National Media Award for print media. A 1995 MBA graduate of The Citadel, he can be reached at Jamesbecktennis@gmail.com .
