'She is in such good form': Amanda Anisimova praises Emma Raducanu after dominant Canadian Open victory

Amanda Anisimova praised Emma Raducanu after a dominant 6-2, 6-1 victory in the third round of the Canadian Open. The American advanced to the Round of 16 and continues her great form, with eight wins in her last nine appearances—her only loss coming in the Wimbledon final to Iga Swiatek.

After a 0-6, 0-6 defeat in her first Grand Slam final, there may have been some doubts about whether Anisimova could recover mentally upon returning to the court in Montreal, and she has proven those doubts wrong. She secured a straight-sets win over Lulu Sun and then dismantled Raducanu in just an hour of play.

Raducanu and Anisimova had two previous encounters, both on hardcourts this year. Back in the Australian Open second round, the Brit won 6-3, 7-5, and a couple of months later—in the Miami Open Round of 16—Raducanu again secured a victory, this time much more comfortably at 6-1, 6-3, to advance to her first WTA 1000 quarterfinals.

Raducanu's consistency shines despite loss to Anisimova

In recent weeks, Raducanu has found good consistency, winning consecutive matches in three straight tournaments for the first time in her career. The Brit advanced to the third round of Wimbledon, the semifinals of the DC Open, and now reached the third round in Montreal, with seven victories in her last 10 appearances.

The former top-10 player reached her first WTA 500 semifinals and has maintained a steady presence on the Tour, staying within the top 40 and currently ranked as the British No. 1.

Anisimova reacted after the third-round match against Raducanu, in which she got her revenge after two consecutive defeats to the former US Open champion. "I mean, I was coming into this tournament feeling confident. I had a good season and I feel like my game really suits the hard courts here," the American said. "I feel like I played really well. Emma is such a tough player and she is in such good form. We have had a lot of tough battles so I’m just happy to be through this one, but it’s not easy playing her."

The world No. 7 is defending a good amount of points this week after reaching the final in 2024—her first WTA 1000 final. In Toronto last year, she defeated opponents like Emma Navarro and Aryna Sabalenka, but ultimately came up empty-handed after losing to Jessica Pegula in the final.

"The atmosphere here today was incredible," Anisimova said. "I love playing here in Canada and I am just so happy to be here for another day. I love competing here and I’m just excited to keep going."

Anisimova to face Svitolina in battle for quarterfinal spot

The next challenge for Anisimova will be this Sunday against Ukraine's Elina Svitolina, as she seeks a spot in the quarterfinals. The 23-year-old already has a notable 33-13 record this season and one title: the WTA 1000 Doha Open back in February

Svitolina has shown a great deal of consistency this season, proving she can compete against the best, and comes from victories against Kamila Rakhimova and Anna Kalinskaya. The Ukrainian is currently ranked world No. 13 and is No. 10 in the Race. The coming weeks will be key for Svitolina, who has the possibility of returning to the top 10 if she maintains good campaigns, and a deep run in Montreal could make the difference.

Currently, Svitolina leads their head-to-head 3-1 (2-1 on hardcourts). However, their last meeting was almost four years ago at the Chicago Fall Tennis Championships in October 2021, when the Ukrainian was ranked No. 4 and Anisimova was outside the top 80.