Amanda Anisimova walked off Grandstand with a reminder of why so many have circled her name this fortnight. Stretched, rattled, then ruthless, last year’s beaten finalist rode out a spirited challenge from 18‑year‑old Lilli Tagger to win 6-3, 3-6, 6-1 and return to the US Open third round.
For a set and a half, this was not the smooth, title-contender cruise many expected. Tagger, an Austrian debutant at this level and already tagged as a serious prospect, swung freely and without fear, breaking Anisimova in the opening game of set two and dragging the match into the kind of alley where favourites often get ambushed.
Anisimova had started solidly, pocketing the first set 6-3, but the teenager refused to fade. Tagger’s aggressive return game bit into the American’s serve, and the second set flipped on its axis. Anisimova’s rhythm deserted her, Tagger grew bolder, and the contest levelled at one set all.
Decider
The decider was something else entirely.
Anisimova reset, hardened her baseline patterns and began to lean on her weight of shot. She broke immediately for 2-0 in the third, a crucial moment that stopped Tagger’s surge before it became something more dangerous. That early punch landed, but the third game turned into a mini-epic: more than nine minutes, six break points for Anisimova, chances for Tagger to wriggle free, the standard rising with every exchange.
Time and again Tagger saved herself, showing why those inside the game think she is going nowhere but up. Then, just when the Austrian carved out an advantage of her own, Anisimova stepped in and ripped a brutal forehand return to snatch it away. The pressure finally told. Anisimova secured the double break for 3-0, and from there she began to look like the player who pushed Aryna Sabalenka all the way in last year’s final.
That long, draining game broke more than just serve. It broke the back of the match. Anisimova consolidated for 4-0, then 5-0, her ball-striking suddenly cleaner, her decision-making sharper. Like Naomi Osaka and Madison Keys earlier in the day, she grew as the match intensified rather than shrank from it.
Tagger did manage to get on the board, holding for 1-5, but the outcome no longer felt negotiable. Anisimova, now fully in command, served it out with authority for 6-1 in the third, closing a contest that had threatened to become a story of upset and instead became a lesson in surviving a scare.
The American will be better for this. She was pushed into uncomfortable places by an 18-year-old who refused to respect the script, and she had to find heavier gears under real stress. Those are the kind of matches that harden a campaign rather than derail it.
Next comes Anastasia Potapova or Leolia Jeanjean in round three. On paper, Anisimova will be favoured again. Beyond that, the draw hints at a potential round‑of‑16 collision with Mirra Andreeva, a match-up that already feels like one of the great “if it happens” occasions of the second week.
As for Tagger, this is not the last time we will hear her name on a big court. She walked into Grandstand as a debutant and left as a player everyone will keep an eye on. Anisimova survived her today. Others may not be so fortunate.
