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NEW YORK: American eighth seed Amanda Anisimova produced a stunning upset of Iga Swiatek to reach the semifinals of the US Open on Wednesday and avenge her Wimbledon final drubbing.
Anisimova — who suffered a crushing 6-0, 6-0 defeat as Swiatek clinched her first Wimbledon title in July — bounced back from that double-bagel disaster to win 6-4, 6-3 on the Arthur Ashe Stadium court.
Polish second seed Swiatek entered the US Open as the bookmakers’ favorite after following up her triumph at Wimbledon with victory in the WTA Cincinnati Open event last month.
But the six-time Grand Slam champion’s hopes of adding a second US Open title to her collection were dashed as Anisimova roared to a redemptive victory in an absorbing one hour 36-minute battle.
“To come back from Wimbledon like that is really special to me,” said Anisimova, who clinched victory in the second set after a net cord bounced in her favor on match point.
“I feel like I worked so hard to turn it around after that... I knew I was going to have to dig really deep. It was such a tough match, truly a battle for me,” added the American, whose lopsided loss at Wimbledon was only the third Grand Slam final in history where a player had lost without winning a game.
Wednesday’s quarter-final had started ominously for Anisimova, with the American being broken in the first game of the opening set to give Swiatek the early initiative.
But Anisimova responded immediately to break and get it back on serve.
Anisimova was under pressure though in the fifth game, finding herself two break points down at 15-40. She dug herself out of that hole to hold for a 3-2 lead.
The breakthrough game in the 10th game when Swiatek’s shaky serve once again left her in trouble at 15-40 down to leave Anisimova with two set points.
Swiatek saved the first but then slashed a wild forehand long to the back of the court to give Anisimova a one-set lead.
Swiatek attempted to regroup in the second set and got an early break before opening up a 2-0 lead.
But Anisimova once again exploited Swiatek’s weakness on serve to break back.
Another net cord in Anisimova’s favor gave her a 4-3 lead, and then Swiatek double-faulted on break point to leave her opponent serving for the match.
Anisimova raced to 40-0 to take three match points, and although Swiatek saved the first two, the tennis gods were clearly on her rival’s side as another net cord bounced just out of Swiatek’s reach to seal victory.
The 24-year-old Anisimova will play two-time former US Open champion Naomi Osaka or Czech 11th seed Karolina Muchova on Thursday for a place in the final.

MIAMI: Ticket prices for next year’s World Cup will range initially from $60 for group-stage matches to $6,730 for the final, but could change as soccer’s top event adopts dynamic pricing for the first time.
The prices are up from a range of $25 to $475 for the 1994 tournament in the United States and for the US dollar equivalent $69 to $1,607 when ticket details were announced for the 2022 tournament in Qatar.
“I think the message is ‘Get your tickets early,’ especially if you know where you will be, because you live in that city, or you’re a fan of the three hosting nations, and then you know already when and where they will play,” said Heimo Schirgi, the World Cup’s chief operating officer. “So that’s the message: ‘Get your tickets early,’ because anything could happen.”
Next year’s tournament runs from June 11 to July 19 and will be played at 11 sites in the US, three in Mexico and two in Canada. The tournament expanded from 32 nations to 48 and from 64 games to 104.
The initial draw period will be limited to Visa card holders and will run from 11 a.m. EDT on the opening day through 11 a.m. EDT on Sept. 19. Those picked to buy tickets will be notified starting Sept. 29 and will be given a timeslot to purchase starting Oct. 1. While tickets for all 104 matches are being put on sale, receiving a timeslot does not guarantee tickets will be available.
Sales will be capped at four tickets per person per match, with no person being able to purchase more than 40 for the totality of the tournament.
FIFA said it has no additional details on prices to announce.
A second phase, called an early ticket draw, likely will run from Oct. 27-31, with purchase timeslots from mid-November to early December.
A third phase, termed a random selection draw, will start after the final draw of teams on Dec. 5 determines the World Cup schedule. FIFA said tickets will be available closer to the tournament “on a first-come, first-served basis.”
FIFA also said it will start an official resale platform.
Hospitality packages have been sold since May. For the eight matches at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey, including the final on July 19, prices range from $3,500 to $73,200 per person.
Fans can purchase tickets to follow a certain team, or purchase for a certain site. Dynamic pricing was also utilized for this year’s Club World Cup, when tickets were cut from $473.90 to $13.40 for the Chelsea-Fluminense semifinal at MetLife Stadium.
“It’s key to highlight FIFA’s mission and FIFA’s objective of providing funding, providing opportunities, providing growth to our sport across all the 211 member associations,” Schirgi said. “And as part of that mission, which we take very seriously, we’re looking at optimizing the revenue, but also optimizing attendance in the stadium, right? So, it’s always a balance between different factors.”
American Airlines announced Wednesday its AAdvantage loyalty program members can redeem miles for World Cup tickets, starting with executive platinum and concierge key members on Oct. 13, with platinum pro, platinum and gold starting the following day and all members having access on Oct. 15.
Thirteen teams in the field have been determined. The US, Canada and Mexico all are assured World Cup spots as the host nations, while reigning champion Argentina with Lionel Messi and perennial power Brazil are among the teams that have already secured qualification.
The host nations will play all three of their group stage matches on home soil. The US will open June 12 in Inglewood, California, then play June 19 in Seattle and again June 25 back in Inglewood. Canada will play June 12 in Toronto, then June 18 and June 24 in Vancouver. Mexico will play June 11 and June 24 in Mexico City, with a June 18 match in Guadalajara.