Revenge triggers upsets on Arthur Ashe

They say that it tastes sweet and is best served cold and certainly six-time Grand Slam champion, Iga Swiatek didn’t see it coming at Arthur Ashe Stadium when her quarter-final opponent, Amanda Anisimova served up the ultimate revenge for the American’s recent historic 6-0, 6-0, drubbing in the Wimbledon Final at the hand of the supposedly invincible Pole.

Anisimova showed true grit of the fabled Western variety when she produced the biggest upset of the tournament to date, in sending Swiatek packing with a convincing 6-4, 6-3 victory catapulting the eighth-seed to her first US Open semi-final, only weeks after the most embarrassing moment of her young career.

Savouring this spate of victories, she then trumped four-time Grand Slam champion Naomi Osaka, 6-7, 7-6, 6-3, ensuring an American would face World No 1 Aryna Sabalenka in the Final.

If the American had bemoaned the “lack of love” she felt from the New York crowd in her previous Round Four win against Brazilian, Beatriz Haddad Mia, then the locals made up for the decibel deficit in bucketloads, during her Swiatek showdown, screaming “We love you Amanda!”.

And who doesn’t love a winner on Star Spangled turf. Even Americans were enamoured by Osaka’s unanticipated win over their beloved defending champion and World No 3, Coco Gauff, who despite patriotic exhortation couldn’t lift her game enough to withstand the Japanese onslaught.

This was another perfect example of revenge served cold, given Gauff had pulverized Osaka in their previous head-to-head in Round Three of the Australian Open  2021.

“I discovered that I love Tennis way more than I thought I did,”  stated the former No 1, who has been slowly building her come back after maternity and ‘mental’ time out.

Certainly Osaka now appears to embrace press interviews with a smile, having pulled out of the 2021 French Open for refusing to do them, apparently suffering anxiety attacks pre-confronting the media.

A new mindset and a sparkling new outfit have introduced this purple patch. And another unanticipated semi-finalist, enjoying an accelerated run, is Canada’s Felix Auger Alliassime.

The 25-year-old has upset three Top 15 players at this event- not least of all World No 3, and former finalist, Alexander Zverev, one of the favourites for the title, whom the Montrealer felled 4-6, 7-6, 6-4,6-4 with a flamboyant attacking approach from a set down.

Alliasime after similarly scalping Australian No 1, Alex De Minaur, matched his deepest run at Flushing Meadows, since 2021, which pushed him into the Top 10 in 2022, before he suffered a spate of injuries in 2023 and spiraled out of elite contention.

Like Osaka, he now has extra motivation, over and above revenge to lift a trophy:  She has a  two-year-old daughter, Shai and is a wife to be, Nina Ghaibi, who is court-side in New York and who scheduled a “wedding fitting for Felix”, the Monday after the Men’s Final. At this rate she may have to cancel it.

Meanwhile another 2024 Olympic medalist, Novak Djokovic ( the Serb won gold, for Singles, while Alliasime won bronze for Mixed Doubles) has slid into the Semis, almost undetected, with most of the limelight in the Mens Draw, falling on the World No 1 & 2, Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz.

American No 1, Taylor Fritz was looking to exact revenge against Djokovic on Arthur Ashe, with the overwhelming support of home galleries after the Serbian GOAT had dismissed him in 10 previous encounters, however  it was not to be.

His Teflon minded Quarters opponent dealt out an 11th defeat 6-3,7-6, 6,3-6,6-4, cocking a snook at the biased crowd to set up another classic Alcaraz versus Djokovic Semis clash, whilst Sinner would have to contend with Aliassime on the attack.

Djokovic has lamented his inability to adapt “to volleying more”, Sinner is definitely attempting to approach the net more often, but ultimately revenge for a recent loss is going to dictate, who wins this mouthwatering Final furlong.