Amanda Anisimova said she was proud of herself for making it to the third round of the Australian Open after an eight-month break from tennis despite part of her expecting to start strong.
Beginning her season in Melbourne, the 22-year-old American defeated 13th seed Liudmila Samsonova of Russia 6-3, 6-4. In May, she announced an indefinite break from the sport due to mental health issues and fatigue.
Anisimova expresses her pride in herself, saying she wasn’t sure if she should have expected to succeed so quickly. She expressed her feelings in the post-match conference and said: “I’m proud of myself. I wasn’t sure if I should expect to do well because a lot of people were telling me not to put too many expectations on myself. You’ve taken a lot of time off. Don’t get too down on yourself if you don’t do well at these tournaments.”
She added: “I kind of took that in a little bit, but I still expected a lot out of myself. But at the same time, I was going to be happy whether I lost in the first round or if I did well. So I was going in with that approach. I’m just really happy that I was able to get this far, but I still think that I can do more.”
Amanda Anisimova says she wasn’t sure if she should expect to do well so quickly, but she’s really proud of herself:
“I'm really proud of myself. I wasn't sure if I should I expect to do well because a lot of people were telling me, Don't put too much expectations on yourself.… pic.twitter.com/mQXYWVXZHf
— The Tennis Letter (@TheTennisLetter) January 19, 2024
Anisimova at the Australian Open, ranking, and results in 2024
Now ranked no.442, the American has an overall 4-1 win-loss record in 2024. Amanda is currently having a run at the Australian Open where she managed to beat the world no.14 Liudmila Samsonova 6-3 6-4, the world no.65 Nadia Podoroska 6-2 6-3 and the world no.100 Paula Badosa Gibert 7-5 6-4.
Amanda Anisimova will face the world no.2 Aryna Sabalenka in the 4th round. Their current record is 4-1 for Anisimova.