"My role is to remind her that calm is essential to win the match," states Anisimova's coach ahead of the WTA Finals semi-finals
Qualified for the WTA Finals semi-finals, Amanda Anisimova is having the best season of her career. The American earned the right to face Aryna Sabalenka thanks to her victory on Wednesday against Iga Swiatek in the final group stage match.
After losing the first set against the Polish player, she ultimately turned the situation around. A double Grand Slam finalist at Wimbledon and the US Open, the world No. 4, who has won two WTA 1000 titles this season, eliminated Iga Swiatek in the third and final match of the Serena Williams Group.
At 24 years old, she is just two wins away from another prestigious title, but will have to overcome the world No. 1 this Friday for a spot in the final. Ahead of this major challenge, Anisimova's coach, Hendrik Vleeshouwers, discusses the keys to her success in the previous match against the Polish player and what she still needs to improve.
"Amanda (Anisimova) managed to keep her calm after losing the first set against Swiatek. My role is to remind her that calm is essential to win the match. When there is noise, when she reacts, when she gets upset, which is inevitable, we also have conflicts.
But we must improve after each one of them. When she is serene and ready to play the point, and she can give 100% of herself, that's the best version of Amanda we will see. I would say she still needs to be more consistent. With experience, I believe she will become more emotionally stable.
She is only 24, she is young. I told her: 'You've had many new experiences this year. If you lose a match or if something doesn't go as planned, we can simply learn from it for the future.'
Imagine if she manages to reach that level of demand consistently in some way, then we can easily analyze what happened this year to improve," Vleeshouwers thus stated to Punto de Break.
Riyad