Anisimova Stuns Osaka, Barty Rolls At Australian Open; Halep, Sabalenka Sat.

Naomi Osaka’s run at the Australian Open came to an end in thrilling fashion as Amanda Anismova stunned the 2-time tournament champion 4-6, 6-3, 7-6[10-5] in just over two hours.

Anismova, who won Melbourne 2 coming into the event, had to save two match points on her serve at 4-5 in the decider to reach her third Grand Slam fourth round.

“Going into this match I knew I had to be playing sharp if I wanted to give myself a chance,” Anisimova said on court.

“Naomi is always going to be playing well. She’s an absolute champion, so I knew that I really had to step up my game and try to be aggressive.

“I think that’s what I started doing in the second set. Honestly, I am grateful that I was able to play so well today and get this win. It means a lot.”

Osaka has won her last 15 matches in the city of Melbourne. And now she’s lost to younger players in a final set breaker in her last two Grand Slams.

“I thought she played really well,” Osaka said after.

“For me, I thought it was a pretty high-level match. I think the pace of her ball surprised me, but other than that, it was fun to play.”

Anismova finished +2 winners to errors while Osaka was -24.

“I thought definitely in the rallies she was dictating a bit more, which was kind of a new feeling for me,” Osaka said. “Granted, I’ve never played her before, so I didn’t know the pace of her ball, but it was definitely a bit jarring to be on my back foot in most of the rallies, and I felt like it was a bit like table-tennis tennis, where it was just really fast and then suddenly she would hit a shorter ball and I would be so far behind I couldn’t really come in, like I was comfortable enough to.”

Anisimova’s win spoiled a Osaka-Ash Barty fourth round showdown. Barty, though, will be next for the 20-year-old after easing past Camila Giorgi 6-2, 6-3. Barty, who has lost just eight games thus far, has won her last 57 service games.

Earlier in the day, Paula Badosa survived a slugfest with Marta Kostyuk 6-2, 5-7, 6-4. She’ll now face former semifinalist Madison Keys who continued her recent resurgence with a tough 4-6, 6-3, 7-6(2) win over Qiang Wang.

The battle of French Open champions went to Barbora Krejcikova who came from a set down to defeat Jelena Ostapenko 2-6, 6-4, 6-4. Next will be 2-time Australian Open champion Victoria Azarenka who blew out Elina Svitolina 6-0, 6-2.

Maria Sakkari and 2021 quarterfinalist Jessica Pegula also advanced to a fourth round affair.

Today, the third round closes with the return of former finalist Simona Halep plus semifinalists Elise Mertens and Danielle Collins. The double fault-riddle Aryna Sabalenka also is back on court.

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