'One of the few players': Andy Roddick hails Amanda Anisimova’s unique trait ahead of Aryna Sabalenka Wimbledon showdown

Former world number one Andy Roddick has highlighted one thing that makes Amanda Anisimova special after her impressive run at Wimbledon. Anisimova cemented her spot in the semifinal of the third Grand Slam of the year after beating Russia’s Mirra Andreeva in straight sets with a score of 6-1, 7-6.

It will be Anisimova’s first-ever appearance in the semifinal of Wimbledon, but she will have a difficult opponent in world number one Aryna Sabalenka. Sabalenka defeated Germany’s Laura Siegemund with a score of 4-6, 6-2, 6-4 in the quarterfinals.

Roddick, speaking on his podcast ‘Served with Andy Roddick,’ highlighted Anisimova’s ability to strike the ball hard, which makes her a difficult opponent to beat. Roddick also went on to explain that he was ‘happy’ to see a player like Anisimova progress so far in a major competition, just two years after taking an indefinite break from tennis because of mental health issues.

“She [Anisimova] is one of the few players on Earth who hits the ball well enough to take the racket out of Sabalenka’s hands,” said Roddick. “You look at Madi Keys. But as far as hitting the ball well and striking. Sabalenka has a bit more variety, she serves a little better, she is a bit more consistent and she has been in the matches a million times. She knows she has to take her shots. She doesn’t move sideline to sideline like Sabalenka does. Sabalenka is an underrated mover because she is so powerful, we kind of ignore the other parts of her game. But I could not be happier for Anisimova. I am sure her story might inspire or at least give cover to other athletes who want to do the same thing and should do the same thing. You can’t operate as a professional athlete at 50% of your mental capacity. I am happy she made that decision [to take a break] for herself, that takes guts.”