By Richard Pagliaro | Monday, January 1, 2024

 

Amanda Anisimova broke serve seven times defeating Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova 7-5, 6-4 in her Auckland opener that was her first match since the Mutua Madrid Open in April, 2023.

Photo credit: ASB Classic Facebook

Amanda Anisimova put pain and pressure aside scoring a memorable comeback conquest in Auckland.

Wild card Anisimova broke serve seven times defeating Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova 7-5, 6-4 in her Auckland opener that was her first match since Madrid in April, 2023.

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Now ranked No. 373, Anisimova showed the power baseline game that made her a major threat.

This was Anisimova's first match since she took an eight-month sabbatical from the sport suffering burnout.

Shaking off the rust quickly, Anisimova smacked six aces against four double faults and connected on 62 percent of her first serves.

Anisimova began training for her comeback last September, but revealed it almost didn't happen in Auckland due to stinging shoulder pain that caused her to consider withdrawing.

Instead, Anisimova played and earned her first Tour-level win since she defeated two-time major finalist Vera Zvonareva 6-3, 6-2 in Dubai last February.

“I was just so upset because I had the wild card for this tournament,” Anisimova said. “I really wanted to play for myself today but also for the tournament – I was really appreciative of them giving me the opportunity.

“Until the last second, I wasn’t sure, so I’m proud of myself for coming out here and really pushing myself.”



The 22-year-old Anisimova, who reached the semifinals at Roland Garros as a 17-year-old in 2019, said tennis had become “unbearable” for her after experiencing burn-out.

“I thought I’d make a post explaining what’s been going on and my plans,” Anisimova wrote on Instagram in a candid May 5th post. “I’ve really been struggling with my mental health and burnout since the summer of 2022. It’s become unbearable being at tennis tournaments.

"At this point my priority is my mental well-being and taking a break for some time. I’ve worked as hard as I could to push through it. I will miss being out there, and I appreciate all the continuous support.”

Cracking her two-handed backhand down the line with damaging intent, Anisimova stormed out to a 5-1 second-set lead today. The 2021 French Open finalist Pavlyuchenkova won eight of the next 10 points to narrow the gap before Anisimova closed it out.



Next up for Anisimova is a second-round meeting vs. Marie Bouzkova. 

The fifth-seeded Bouzkova, who hired new coach and former Wimbledon winner Conchita Martinez last month, was a 6-0, 3-6, 6-4 victor over Poland's Magdalena Frech in her first-round match.

World No. 36 Bouzkova and Anisimova will square off the first time in round two.