Amanda Anisimova returned to the tennis courts and made a great start at the 2024 Charleston Open, beating veteran Alize Cornet.
It's been a while since fans last saw the 22-year-old American on the tennis courts. She last competed in Australia at the Australian Open and played well before crashing out of the season's first Grand Slam tournament.
There were some injury concerns, and she debated returning earlier but ultimately settled on the WTA 500 tournament in Charleston. It wasn't the worst idea because it's a pretty nice transition to clay courts.
The courts in Charleston are not clay per se because it's green clay, which plays more like hard courts than actual clay, but it's a nice way for players to ease into a surface that isn't proper clay before that part of the calendar stars.
The draw was pretty kind to her because it gave her Cornet, who hasn't had a very good year so far. The French player is close to retirement, and Anismova largely didn't have any problems.
The Frenchwoman also plays defensively, which the big-hitting Anisimova can feast on. The match started a bit better for Cornet because the American faced an early break point.
She saved it and started to play better as the match went on, eventually breaking her opponent and winning the opening set 6-3. The second set was much easier because Anisimova was in full control of the match and playing pretty well.
She took an early break and then added another one later on for the 5-0 lead. She finished off with another break and the bagel for the final score of 6-3, 6-0.
It's a really strong start from Anisomova, who looks like she didn't miss a beat despite not playing for over two months. Hopefully, this time around, she will remain healthy throughout the clay season because her tennis has rarely been a problem. This match further proves that.