- The 20-Year Grand Slam Streak of Feliciano Lopez Has Come to an End
- Roland Garros Qualifying Draws and Schedule for Thursday, May 19th
- Roland Garros Qualifying Draws and Schedule for Wednesday, May 18th
- Gael Monfils Withdraws from Roland Garros
- Roland Garros Qualifying Draws and Schedule for Tuesday, May 17th
- Roland Garros Qualifying Draws and Schedule for Monday, May 16th
- Djokovic builds momentum for French Open 2022 with sixth Rome Masters Tennis title
- Novak’s Back: Djokovic Beats Tsitsipas for Sixth Rome Crown
- Rome ATP and WTA Draws and Schedule for Sunday, May 15th
- Stefanos Tsitsipas Defeats Alexander Zverev to Reach Maiden Rome Final
- Iga Swiatek Scores 26th Straight Win, Sets up Rome Semifinal vs. Sabalenka
- Rome ATP and WTA Draws and Schedule for Saturday, May 14th
- Foot injury returns for Rafa Nadal in three-set loss to Shapovalov at Rome Masters tennis
- Rome ATP and WTA Draws and Schedule for Friday, May 13th
- Naomi Osaka Splits from IMG To Form New Management Firm
Anisimova Is Craig Cignarelli’s Pick As A Tennis Star On The Rise
- Updated: March 11, 2018

Amanda Anisimova from USA in action against Petra Kvitova from the Czech Republic during the BNP Paribas Open at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden in Indian Wells, California, USA, 11 March 2018. EPA-EFE/MIKE NELSON
If you’ve been following my writing over the last week, you know I’ve been high on Amanda Anisimova’s game, predicting this kid will go deep in the tournament. Through qualies she displayed an uncommon composure, especially for a sixteen year-old, and a complete commitment to her aggressive game.
This morning I watched her compete against two-time Wimbledon winner, Petra Kvitova. The Czech is a southpaw wielding a huge forehand and a stay-low-with-the-J-Lo backhand. She has years of experience on tour and has run through hundreds of young players on her way to WTA titles. Thus, her shock at being demolished by this teenager was understandable.
Anisimova came out with the same tactics as earlier in the week. You can almost see her frothing at the opportunity to hammer an opponent’s serve, and she did so relentlessly today, catching baselines again and agin with stunning drives. Kvitova played much of the match on her back foot and if she left a single ball hanging, the young American would drive her into a corner, often with flat-out winners. Boxing trainer Cus D’Amato used to say former heavyweight champion, Mike Tyson, would throw punches with bad intentions. The same can be said of Anisimova’s backhands. She drops into a deep lunge, pivots the back foot hard and drives through the ball like Tyson throwing a right hand.
With a 6-2, 6-4 victory, the only reason the scoreline was close was because the youngster played two loose games to start the second set, double faulting twice and missing some easy forehands. If there is a weakness, pace to the forehand may be it. She is a little slow with the racquet tip and hits a touch late if you can push her back to that side. Still, at sixteen, there is time to improve. And that is what’s scary. She isn’t even close to her peak and she’s taken out some serious competition this week, and handily. Six days ago, during qualies, I texted a friend and said this kid is a top tenner within eighteen months. He laughed and said, “Show me!” Today, he texted back “I get it!” She may get there quicker than we think. Her fourth round opponent is Pliskova. With all of these casinos down here in the desert, I don’t see anyone betting against this kid. We shall see.