American 20-year-old Amanda Anisimova has defeated reigning champion Naomi Osaka to progress through to the fourth round.
Tennis pundits were predicting that Australia’s Ash Barty would come up against reigning champion Naomi Osaka in the fourth round of the Australian Open, but the Japanese phenom has been knocked out in a huge upset at Melbourne Park.
America’s Amanda Anisimova has defeated the four-time grand slam champion 4-6, 6-3, 7-6 on Margaret Court Arena to progress through to the fourth round, where she will face world No. 1 Barty.
It’s Anisimova’s first victory over a top 15 player since February 2020
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The 20-year-old saved two match points against Osaka at 4-5 in the third set, but managed to force a tie-break that she won 10-5.
Osaka, who won the Australian Open in 2019 and 2021, will drop to outside top 80 on the WTA rankings after this tournament as a result of the premature exit.
“I’m speechless,” Anisimova said after the gritty win. “I can’t stop smiling. I’m just laughing. I absolutely love this.
“Going into this match I knew I had to be playing sharp if I wanted to give myself a chance.
“She is an absolute champion so I knew I would have to step up my game and be aggressive.
“I’m honestly so grateful that I was able to play so well today and get this win. It means a lot.
“Every single day here is an amazing opportunity. I’m just thinking about having fun and I’m looking forward to my next round.”
More to come …
Originally published as ’Heartbreak’: Reigning champion Naomi Osaka knocked out of Open
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