'Two years ago, I didn't believe in her anymore' - Amanda Anisimova collects admiration from tennis legends following imposing triumph over Swiatek

Amanda Anosimova booked her place in the US Open semi-finals after shocking the world number two, Iga Swiatek, 6-4, 6-3, to reach her first semi-final at Flushing Meadows. Tennis icons Justine Henin and Mats Wilander reacted to the upset and lauded the American for an excellent performance.

The tie had numerous expectant onlookers after the stories that cropped up from their previous meeting. Anisimova reached her first Grand Slam final at Wimbledon a couple of months ago after taking down Aryna Sabalenka in the semi-finals, but failed to win a single game in a rout from the 2022 US Open champion.

Now meeting in a second consecutive Grand Slam, Anisimova was determined to get revenge on Swiatek and somewhat make up for the underwhelming final performance. She was broken early on in what many saw as a sign of things to come, but she stayed firm, breaking straight back on the third attempt to mark a state of intent. The set would stay on serve before the world number eight found a key break at the conclusion of the set, forcing herself in front with a slender advantage.

Again, Swiatek would break early, but Anisimova levelled up swiftly after. After going 2-0 down, she would win six of the next seven games to avenge the Wimbledon disaster and confirm her place in a third Grand Slam semi-final.

Anisimova receives praise from legends of the sport

Seven-time Grand Slam champion Henin revealed her concerns for Anisimova two years ago. She had taken a break from the sport, citing mental health worries and burnout. Since then, Henin's opinion on her has gone 360, with the Belgian now praising her after all the tough events she has had to endure.

"Amanda had a game point on her first service game," she said on TNT Sports. "But she managed to break back straight away, and that was very important. We were focused on that first game because of Wimbledon. But she came onto the court with a much bigger idea than just doing better than at Wimbledon. Two years ago, I didn't believe in her anymore. When we saw her struggles, we didn't think she would come back like this. It's a lesson in courage and hard work. She took care of herself, in time, to take a step back from the circuit. When you're able to come back like that after what she went through at Wimbledon, it's impressive. She has incredible resources, and she knows how to use the difficult moments she's been through to her advantage."

Former world number one Wilander believes Anisimova has finally started to find her full potential after a promising youth career. He touched on the performance, pinpointing how well she dominated the six-time Grand Slam champion.

"It was an unbelievable match compared to the one at Wimbledon," he said. "Anisimova is such a good ball striker and she won the match without Iga Swiatek playing bad. Anisimova has arrived. She had so much promise from when she was 17 or 18 years old but now she has arrived at the top of the game. She hits the ball so smoothly on the backhand side and it’s maybe the best backhand we have in the game right now. She ball strikes so beautifully, plays so aggressively. Hits the ball so hard and isn’t afraid of anything. The fact she could dominate Iga Swiatek the way she did from the baseline, it was amazing. There was not much Iga could’ve done when Anisimova plays like that. Iga has had an unbelievable return since the French Open, winning Wimbledon, Cincinnati and quarter-finals here is not bad."

She will face off against the resurging Naomi Osaka for a place in the US Open final.