Anisimova regains control to beat Tagger in three sets at US Open
NEW YORK -- For a while Thursday afternoon, it looked like Amanda Anisimova might make quick work of one of the youngest players left in the US Open draw.
It didn’t turn out to be quite that easy.
Playing in comfortable 80-degree weather on the Grandstand, the No. 10 seed recovered after dropping the second set to defeat 18-year-old Lilli Tagger 6-3, 3-6, 6-1 and reach the third round of the US Open.
Anisimova was sharp early. She served well, got plenty of first strikes off both wings from the backcourt and rarely gave Tagger much room to settle into the match as she took the opening set.
The second-set turnaround
With Anisimova serving at 2-1, Tagger shanked a return high into the air. Anisimova managed to strike an overhead, but Tagger followed with a backhand that clipped the net and dropped near the baseline to bring up break point. Anisimova then double-faulted, giving Tagger the break and leveling the set at 2-all.
From there, Tagger took control. The Austrian won four of the next five games to take the set 6-3 and force a decider.
Whatever momentum Tagger had built didn’t last long.
Order restored
Anisimova broke early in the third and quickly moved ahead 3-0. The fourth game turned into a battle, with Anisimova repeatedly pushing for a second break. On her seventh break point of the game, she finally got it, scorching a forehand winner out of Tagger’s reach to take a 4-0 lead.
Two games later, it was over.
Anisimova finished with 30 winners, twice as many as Tagger, though the two finished with the same number of unforced errors. Anisimova also converted five break points, compared with three for Tagger.
It was a tough assignment for Tagger, who was playing her first US Open main draw and facing a Top 10 player for the first time in her career.
Still, this has been a fast rise for the 18-year-old Austrian. The 2025 Roland Garros junior champion won her first tour-level title earlier this year in Prague, becoming the youngest Austrian to win a WTA title. She made her Top 100 debut in April and cracked the Top 50 in July.
Anisimova, meanwhile, is plenty familiar with this stage. She reached back-to-back Grand Slam finals at Wimbledon and the US Open last year and has continued to produce on hard courts this season.
The victory improved Anisimova to 22-11 this season and gave her a 17th win in 22 hard-court matches. She has reached the semifinals in Dubai and the quarterfinals at both the Australian Open and Cincinnati.
Anisimova will face No. 24 seed Anastasia Potapova in the third round.
