No. 8 seed Amanda Anisimova won a very tight all-American battle in Charleston against fourth-seeded Emma Navarro and afterward said she wished it was a final match.
After two hours of play, the 23-year-old American registered a 7-5 7-6 (1) quarterfinal win against the 2024 US Open semifinalist.
Through the opening eight games of the match, not a single break point was seen. But then in the next 10 games, at least one break point was seen in each game and a total of nine breaks - Anisimova got five and her rival four.
In the seventh game of the second set, Navarro finally held to one of her service games and then also claimed a break in the following game to go 5-3 up. Just when it seemed that the No. 4 seed had the momentum, she didn't manage to serve out for set as Anisimova managed to force a tie-break, which she dominated to complete her victory in two sets.
Anisimova: It's bad that we had to play this early on
Emma is an amazing competitor. An amazing player. I wish this was a final. I feel so bad that we had to play each other this early on. Shes been playing great tennis. Its never easy to play her. She has a great attitude. It wasnt easy but I tried to stop being so negative and just focus on every point. Im happy with the way I was able to play," the No. 8 seed said.
In the Charleston semifinal, Anisimova will face another American - Sofia Kenin.
