After suffering an upset at the Citi Open in Washington last week, Aryna Sabalenka suffered yet another upset at the 2024 Canadian Open in Toronto against Amanda Anisimova.
The Belarusian is not playing her best tennis right now. The last event Sabalenka played before returning to the courts in North America was the Berlin Open, and she suffered a shoulder injury there.
It was bad enough that it kept her from competing at Wimbledon, which was a significant blow for Sabalenka. The Olympics were never part of her schedule anyway, so missing that didn't change her plans, so she returned at the Citi Open in Washington last week.
She played some solid tennis but clearly wasn't at her best. Part of that was her not playing in a while, but part was her shoulder still giving her some issues. She admitted that she felt sore and held back to protect her shoulder.
It could be observed in the way she played because she wasn't being her aggressive self. There was a lot of thinking about what shot to play, and that's just not how she plays.
Ahead of the 2024 Canadian Open, Sabalenka admitted that her shoulder was healthy and her level was pretty decent. However, I ran into an inspired Anisimova, and it wasn't a great day at the office for
the second seed. Anisimoava has historically been a really tough matchup for her, beating her in the first four matches they played. It wasn't until Rome in 2022 that Sabalenka got her first win.
She could also win the next two matches, including one at the Australian Open earlier this year. However, this time around, it was the American who was the better player, and it wasn't even close.
The opening set was very interesting because the Belarusian played solid tennis. She had chances but failed to use them, not using any of her five break points. The problem for her was her serve because she didn't serve well at all.
Her percentage was bad, and she totaled four double faults in that opening set. That gave Anisimova plenty of chances to push her around on her serve, which rarely happens. The best indicator is that Sabalenka faced only two break points despite all that.
Anisimova used one to win the opening set 6-4 and gain an early advantage. The second set opened well for Sabalenka, who found herself up 2-1 after the third game. She broke her opponent's serve, and it seemed like she could start to turn the match in her favor
The opposite happened, as Anisimova went on to win five games in a row. It was a bizarre collapse from Sabalenka, who simply couldn't find any rhythm. On top of that, Anisimova played incredibly well, putting a lot of pressure on Sabalenka, which she didn't handle well at all.
The scoreline was shocking, as the American won the match 6-4, 6-2. On the other hand, Sabalenka is clearly still searching for her best tennis, and she ran into a player who has historically been better than her in this matchup.
0 Comments