New York, Sep 5 (IANS) One of the most in-form players of 2026, No. 24 seed Anastasia Potapova dismissed 2025 finalist Amanda Anisimova in straight sets to advance to the women’s singles fourth round of the US Open for the first time in her career at the Louis Armstrong Stadium in New York on Saturday.
Potapova, who stood on the brink of dropping out of the top 100, dropping to No. 97, defeated Anisimova 6-2, 7-5 in a third-round clash in one hour and 39 minutes at Flushing Meadows.
On paper, this matchup felt like one of the most unpredictable of the women’s third round. The pair was tied in their head-to-head at one game apiece, but they hadn’t faced each other since 2019.
Potapova is in the midst of one of her strongest seasons; the former world No. 21 clawed her way back into the Top 25, defeating Elena Rybakina on the clay in Madrid and reached the fourth round at Roland Garros—taking out Coco Gauff, the tournament’s defending champion, en route to the result.
Potapova won the first set 6-2 but had a tougher time closing out Anisimova in the second. The American broke twice to take the lead, but Potapova broke back each time before going on to win the second set 7-5 and complete the victory in 1 hour, 39 minutes.
The win sends Potapova into the fourth round of the US Open for the first time and into the Round of 16 at a Grand Slam for the third time in her career, following appearances at the 2024 and 2026 French Open.
It was Potapova’s third win over a top-10 opponent this season on the WTA Tour Driven by Mercedes-Benz, with both of her previous victories coming on clay – against No. 4 Coco Gauff at the French Open and No. 2 Elena Rybakina in Madrid. The victory also marked her eighth Grand Slam match win of the season, a career first.
For Anisimova, who reached the final here last year before losing to Iga Swiatek in the championship match, the loss dropped her record against players ranked inside the top 30 to 4-10 this season. Potapova will next face No. 5 seed Mirra Andreeva or Czech Nikola Bartunkova in the round of 16.
–IANS
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