Amanda Anisimova sweeps to maiden WTA 1000 title after ‘hard work and tears’

DOHA – Amanda Anisimova clinched the first WTA 1000 title of her career with a 6-4, 6-3 victory over Jelena Ostapenko in a rain-interrupted Qatar Open final on Feb 15, a triumph achieved after “a lot of hard work and tears”.

At 41st in the world rankings, she is the lowest-ranked champion in tournament history and the first American to claim the Doha title since Monica Seles in 2002.

Ostapenko was coming off a resounding victory over three-time champion and world No. 2 Iga Swiatek in the previous round, but Anisimova gave the Latvian a taste of her own medicine, showcasing incredible ball-striking and precision.

“This week has been amazing. To be able to lift the trophy here for my first WTA 1000 is super special,” said Anisimova, who will make her top-20 debut on Feb 17, rising to a career-high 18th in the world.

She enjoyed early success in her career, reaching the semi-finals of the 2019 French Open when she was just 17.

But in May 2023, the American announced she would be taking an indefinite break from tennis, citing burnout and mental health concerns.

She returned to action at the start of last season, ranked 373rd in the world, and has clawed her way back up.

“There’s been a lot of hard work, a lot of tears, a lot of good moments. I think with tennis you experience it all, but that’s also why I love it,” added Anisimova.

“There have been a lot of challenges the last few weeks and I’m very proud of myself and happy with how I’ve dealt with them. It’s been an incredible week on top of that.”

In the first WTA 1000 final to feature two players ranked outside the top 30, Ostapenko and Anisimova traded heavy blows from the baseline, both utilising the same aggressive game style that carried them into the championship match.

Anisimova, 23, was the more clinical of the pair in the opening set, as she remained unfazed when her early break of serve was nullified by former French Open champion Ostapenko and broke again in the ninth game to take the lead.

It was the first set world No. 37 Ostapenko dropped all week, the five double faults she committed proving costly.

Anisimova looked on her way to a comfortable win when she broke for a 2-1 advantage in the second set but Ostapenko responded immediately and got the set back on serve.

Rain suspended play with Ostapenko serving at 3-3, 40-40 and players were taken off court for nearly 25 minutes.

Anisimova broke serve upon resumption of play and kept up her all-out attack strategy to win in 1hr 21min.

Ostapenko finished the match with 10 double faults and has now fallen to 0-3 in WTA 1000 finals.

Still, the 27-year-old can take many positives from her week in Doha, where she defeated two top-five players – Swiatek and Jasmine Paolini – in the same tournament for the first time in her career.

“Of course, it’s not the result that I wanted today but I really hope I will come back stronger and I hope that one day I will lift this trophy,” she said. AFP