Archives for February 2025

Finally, Amanda Anisimova wins a gigantic title

Amanda Anisimova
Mal Taam/MALTphoto

Who would have known that the American Amanda Anisimova finally won a big title, winning a  WTA 1000 Qatar TotalEnergies Open. She crushed the ball in the final, beating the veteran Jelena Ostapenko, 6-4, 6-3. That was huge, as over the past few years, she looked terrific, and then, she started to hit some wild errors. But she turned it on last week, hitting it deep and with more variety. She also beat Paula Badosa and Ekaterina Alexandrova, among others.

 “It’s been such an incredible week here. I think every match has been very tough,” Anisimova said. “I’m just super happy with my performances and my level here, and to be able to get my first 1000 title is really special to me. It was actually quite stressful, especially with the rain, at 3-3. I was trying to stay focused. There’s not much that either of us could do with the conditions. But I think that game was super important, and I’m happy that it went my way because, as you said, it was a very challenging moment in the match.”

Yes, she was, as last year, in the first seven months, she was out of it, mentally. She was frustrated and ticked off, too. But she decided to be more intelligent and patient. She is a gigantic hitter, but now she is more brilliant, on the court and off.   Now she is ranked No. 18 and ready to go. Whether she can reach in the top 10 is still up and the air, but currently she is super confident.  Both her forehand and her backhand are strong, and her return is aggressive.

Believe it or not, 12 months ago, she was ranked No. 213, and she was very low, but she kept trying , and in the summer at Toronto, she reached the final. She lost against Jessica Pegula, but she looked pretty darn good.

Really though, last year, the 23-year-old lost a number of matches, like at Wimbledon, when she couldn’t reach the first round at the qualifying.  In 2023, in May, she stopped, and she didn’t play on the court when she was ready to try it again in 2024 January. It took her a long time to revive, but she is right there now.

“I think that I’ve been able to really execute well from my backhand side,” Anisimova said. “But also I’ve been working a lot on my forehand, which I think that I’ve also had a lot of winners on. I think I’m really trying to develop my game as a whole, try to come into the net more, and use my serve to my advantage. I think my whole game is actually coming together.”

It has been going on for year in Delray Beach Open in Florida during February, but this time, the American men couldn’t win it again, and this time, the Serbian Miomir Kecmanovic won it, beating Alejandro Davidovich Fokina 3-6, 6-1, 7-5 . That was so close, but he stood tall.

“It feels unbelievable to win after losing two finals before and then down 5-2, match points. It was an amazing feeling and I’m so proud of myself,” said Kecmanovic.

“It’s an unbelievable week. I’ve worked so hard, I’ve done everything I could right. It didn’t happen for a long time, but I kept believing and I’m so happy to finally win another title.”

Madison Keys and Jannik Sinner win the Australian Open

Madison Keys
Mal Taam/MALT photo

At the start of the Australian Open, who would have thought that Madison Keys would win a Grand Slam? Yes, at the beginning of the year, she did win another tournament, at Adelaide in the beginning of January, but the 29-year-old had never gone into the Slams. Eventually, when it was deep, she failed, year after year. But the American finally rose so high, beating the No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka 6-3, 2-6, 7-5. She was totally into it, point after point.

It was not just him when the now three-time champion, Jannik Sinner, out-hit against Alexander Zverev 6-3, 7-6(4), 6-3. He was stronger on the court, and his forehand and his backhand were phenomenal. A few years ago, the Italian was up and down, week after week, but now he is so stable and consistent. 

It certainly told Keys after she won it that she might not be able to win another major, but this time, she was finally much more harmonious and nailed it with her huge first serve and her forehand and backhand. She finally climbed high.

“I felt like from a pretty young age, I felt like if I never won a Grand Slam, then I wouldn’t have lived up to what people thought I should have been,” Keys said. “That was a pretty heavy burden to kind of carry around.  I think it just kind of forced me to look at myself in the mirror a little bit and try to work on, kind of just internal pressure that I was putting on myself.”

She put away the tough pressure, knowing that if she hung in there, and just lock it in, then she will have a chance to beat anyone. She did, as not only did she beat Sabalenka, but also she knocked off the No. 2 Iga Swiątek in the semis. Even before that, she  bumped off Danielle] Collins, Elena Rybakina, and Elina Svitolina. What and incredible line-up. Apparently, she would also listen with her therapy.

“To really start kind of digging in on how I felt about myself and really being honest with myself about it, it was really hard,” she said. “So just being really honest and actually getting help and actually talking to someone, and not just about tennis but about how I felt about myself. I honestly think that had I not done that, then I wouldn’t be sitting here.”

Last year, Sinner won the Aussie Open for the first time and became super fitting. At the 2024 Aussie, he pushed himself, even though he was nervous, but in the final, in the fifth set, he pounded against Daniil Medvedev and won. Then he was ready to take off, and he did, winning Rotterdam, Miami, Halle, Cincinnati, the US Open, Shanghai, and the ATP Finals in Turin, Italy. And now, he grabbed it again at the 2025 Aussie Open. He is No. 1, and he will stay there for a while. Perhaps the 23-year-old can win many more Slams.

He was so composed and brilliant. He is rocking and rolling. Now, he will try to win Roland Garros and Wimbledon. 

“The first one is more kind of relief. It’s different. It gives you the [knowledge] that you can do it if you play some great tennis,” Sinner said. “The second one, this one, maybe you enjoy it a bit more because it’s different. But every Grand Slam, or every tournament you win, or you go far, it has its own story. You have to pass difficulties, like I did also this year here, and this makes it very, very special.”