Down go the top two! Anisimova, Maria set surprise Queen's final
The No. 1 and No. 2 seeds at the HSBC Championships were still standing entering semifinal Saturday at the Queen's Club. But by the end of the day, both Zheng Qinwen and Madison Keys View Profile were ousted thanks to the respective performances of American Amanda Anisimova View Profile and Tatjana Maria View Profile .
Former Wimbledon semifinalist Maria, currently ranked No. 86 and a qualifier this week, used her unorthodox game to frustrate a Grand Slam champion for the second straight round in her 6-3, 7-6(3) upset of Keys, having defeated 2022 Wimbledon winner and fourth seed Elena Rybakina View Profile in the quarterfinals.
She never lost serve in the 1-hour and 29-minute victory -- saving the only break point she faced in the match in the sixth game of the second set -- to advance to her first career tour-level singles final above WTA 250 level.
"It's a dream come true," the 37-year-old mother of two said. "It's amazing to play here ... it's such a special place, and I couldn't wish for a better tournament to be in the final. I'm so, so proud."
Maria had lost nine straight matches coming into the HSBC Championships, but has now won six in a row -- a run which has also included wins in the main draw over 2021 US Open finalist Leylah Fernandez View Profile and No. 6 seed Karolina Muchova View Profile .
At age 37 years and 312 days, Maria is the oldest singles finalist on the Hologic WTA Tour since Serena Williams won the 2020 ASB Classic title in Auckland at age 38.
"You always have to keep going. You never can stop; it doesn't matter how it goes," she said. "I think I'm a really good example for this. I had my ups and downs, but you always have to keep going. I love to play tennis, I love this sport, and we live for these special moments."
Later in the second semifinal, eighth seed Anisimova doubled her total of Top 10 wins with a 6-2, 4-6, 6-4 win over Zheng -- her second Top 10 win in as many days after ousting World No. 10 and No. 3 seed Emma Navarro View Profile in the quarterfinals.
Anisimova, who won her first WTA 1000 crown in Doha in February, regrouped after losing a 6-2, 2-0 lead to reach her first grass-court final, and score her first win against Zheng in three attempts after losing both of their three-set matches last year from a set ahead.
"Every time we've played, we've had some really touch battles, and I was really relieved at the end there," Anisimova said afterwards. "She's a top player and she manages always to pick up her level, so I knew I was going to have to change things up and adjust a little bit. I'm happy with the way I was able to try and stay composed and just fight my way through."
Anisimova lost her only previous match against Maria -- but that was seven years ago in qualifying in Beijing. Though she may be the favorite on paper, the American is not overlooking the "tricky" nature of Maria's game, particularly on the grass-court surface.
"It's incredible to see what she's doing and her family is so cute, seeing her kids coming everywhere," she said. "It's really special for her, and it's going to be a great final."
