Anisimova will face top seed Ash Barty in the fourth round
On Friday, American Amanda Anisimova defeated defending Australian Open champion Naomi Osaka in an exciting three-set match. The 20-year-old Anisimova won one of the biggest wins of her career by beating two-time Australian Open winners 4-6, 6-4, 7-6 (5). She competed in the world number 60.
AP Photo/Simon Baker
Naomi Osaka of Japan reacted to a third round match against Amanda Anisimova of the United States at the Australian Open in Melbourne, Australia, on Friday, January 21, 2022.
"I knew if I wanted to give myself a chance, I had to play sharply," Anisimova said after the game.
Anisimova dug a hole for herself after the first set, but managed to bounce back in the second set and beat Osaka as best she could in the third set. She saved two match points in the third set, saved the game and ended with an A.
GARBIÑE MUGURUZA bows at the Australian Open
Compared to Osaka's 21, she had 46 winners.
Amanda Anisimova of the United States celebrated after beating Japan's Naomi Osaka in the third round of the Australian Open in Melbourne, Australia, on Friday, January 21, 2022.
Anisimova had previously beaten Olympic champion Belinda Bencic in the second round.
The native of Freehold Town, New Jersey, makes it to the fourth round where she will face top seed Ash Barty. Anisimova also made it to the fourth round of 2019.
Barty is one of the top tennis players in the sport. But in one of the biggest games of the season in front of her hometown audience, she has underperformed over the past three years. She has never won the Australian Open.