Anisimova stuns Sabalenka in Toronto to reach first WTA 1000 semifinal

Toronto, Aug 11 (IANS) American Amanda Anisimova stunned Aryna Sabalenka at the Canadian Open to record her fifth win in seven meetings against the Belarusian player and secure her place in her first WTA 1000 semifinal.

Anisimova, who took a sabbatical from tennis in 2023 to prioritise her mental health, recorded a 6-4, 6-2 win to reach her first WTA semifinal in more than two years.

Although she went down an early break in the second, Anisimova used her flat, piercing groundstrokes to force more errors out of Sabalenka, and the 22-year-old reeled off five games in a row to seal the win.She will now square off against her compatriot, No. 8 seed Emma Navarro, for a coveted spot in Monday night’s final.

In Saturday's first quarterfinal, Navarro stopped the run of lucky loser Taylor Townsend 6-3, 7-6(5) to also reach a WTA 1000 semifinal for the first time.

Anisimova told the media that she has drawn inspiration from four-time Grand Slam champion Naomi Osaka, who famously took a break from tennis to address her own mental health and has since become a key advocate on the subject within the sport.

"I'm super happy to see her back, and it seems like she's doing really, really well. Also, she had a baby, so I'm just so happy to see her accomplish all of that and also come back to the tour, especially at the level that she's playing at, it's honestly very inspiring and just amazing, as well as all the conversations that she starts and opens up,” Anisimova was quoted as saying by the organisers."I think that we're all very happy to have her in the WTA, and she's a huge part of tennis, and just being able to be so honest and vulnerable as she is, it's definitely something very special, and I really look up to her on that," she added.