World No.60 Amanda Anisimova has shown immense courage to stun the Australian Open’s reigning champion, Naomi Osaka, 4-6 6-3 7-6 (10-5).
It was the first time the American had defeated a top 20 player from 19 attempts.
Osaka comfortably claimed the opening set, before Anisimova tightened up her service games to claim the second and later force the match into a third-set tie break.
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Delivering aggressive serves, Anisimova’s number of double faults increased, but she also reaped rewards with 11 aces and an 81 per cent win rate on her second serve.
And the 2019 French Open semi-finalist held her nerve to deny Osaka two match points and send the set into a tiebreak where she grabbed the lead and didn’t let it go.
“Going into this match I knew I had to be playing sharp if I wanted to give myself a chance,” Anisimova said.
“You know Naomi is always going to be playing well – she’s an absolute champion.
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“So, I knew I really had to step up my game and try to be aggressive, and that’s what I started doing in the second set.
“Honestly I am so grateful that I was able to play so well today and get this win, it means a lot.”
Anisimova will now meet Aussie Ash Barty in the fourth round on Sunday.
The upset opens up the championship for world No.1 Barty with several of the top seeds out of the tournament.
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