Amanda Anisimova defeated Linda Noskova 6-0, 2-6, 6-2 on Sunday to win the China Open. This is her second title of the year and the fourth of her career.
The 24-year-old American, who was seeded third, had a shaky second set but recovered strongly to beat the 26th seed in one hour and 46 minutes in Beijing.
Just a month ago, Anisimova reached the US Open final, where she lost to world number one Aryna Sabalenka. Speaking after her win, she said, “It’s been an incredible few weeks. I felt a lot of love,” and thanked the crowd at Diamond Court for their support.
Anisimova is now the third American to win the China Open, following last year’s champion Coco Gauff and Serena Williams, who has won 23 Grand Slam titles.
After winning the final point, Anisimova collapsed onto the court, lying on her back with her hands over her face.
She made a fast start, winning the first set in just 23 minutes without dropping a game. Noskova, playing in her first WTA 1000 final, came back strong in the second set, breaking Anisimova early and taking a 5-2 lead before closing it out.
The final set was close at first, but Anisimova broke serve for a 4-2 lead and held on, winning the match with her first match point.
It’s been a fantastic season for Anisimova, now ranked world number four. She was also runner-up at Wimbledon earlier this year. At this time last year, she was ranked number 43.
After her win, Anisimova thanked her coaches and said: “We’ve faced a lot of challenges, but we’ve also had so much fun. It’s amazing that we’ve come this far, and getting the win today means a lot. I’m excited for what’s ahead, and hopefully we can keep going.”
In the semi-finals, Anisimova defeated second seed Gauff easily, winning 6-1, 6-2 in under an hour.
Noskova, who was ranked 27th at the start of the tournament, said: “I definitely wasn’t expecting to reach the final, so it was a nice surprise.”
Anisimova praised Noskova, calling her “so young” and saying they both have many more finals ahead of them.
This was only the second WTA 1000 final where both players were born in the 2000s.
