By Shrivathsa Sridhar
LONDON, July 2 (Reuters) – Amanda Anisimova survived an almighty scare against compatriot Sofia Kenin on Thursday to join a wave of American women marching into the third round of Wimbledon, while Taylor Fritz ensured the Stars and Stripes kept fluttering in the men’s draw.
Twelve months after her 6-0 6-0 humbling by Iga Swiatek in the title clash, Anisimova was on the verge of another painful defeat after being dragged to three sets by former Australian Open champion Kenin but she came through 6-2 4-6 7-6(10-3).
The sixth seed’s reward for a battling victory was a blockbuster Saturday showdown with another Grand Slam winner in Madison Keys, with the duo meeting as their country marks the 250th anniversary of its independence.
Anisimova admitted there were “really awful” moments in her match and she was bailed out by her huge serve, after she fired down 20 aces.
“I never thought I’d say this, but thank you to my serve, I’m not a good server at all but after today, I can say that I am,” a beaming Anisimova said on court.
“I’m really happy with my performance, especially with the end. Shout out to Sofia, she’s such a good opponent and a real fighter … I was down and told myself to keep fighting.
“I tried to bring myself back to the present moment. I try to remind myself — have fun, you’re playing at Wimbledon. These are the matches I train for, the tough ones, the fun ones.”
FRITZ EMERGING AS GENUINE CONTENDER
Fritz had an enjoyable outing in his own all-American clash on Court Two and the 2025 semi-finalist, a genuine contender on grass with his huge serve, advanced with a 6-2 6-2 7-5 victory over Patrick Kypson.
The sixth seed joined U.S. colleagues Marcos Giron and Zachary Svajda in advancing, with Michael Zheng, Tommy Paul and Jenson Brooksby all going through on Wednesday.
Giron, Svajda and Zheng face big tests in the next round when they play French Open champion Alexander Zverev, fifth seed Alex de Minaur and third seed Felix Auger-Aliassime but Brooksby has the unenviable task of trying to topple Jannik Sinner.
Zverev continued his bid for a second straight Grand Slam trophy by beating unseeded Frenchman Valentin Royer 6-1 6-3 7-6(3) while De Minuar dispatched another Frenchman in Adrian Mannarino with a 6-3 6-2 6-2 win.
Victories for Ashlyn Krueger and Emma Navarro meant eight American women advanced to the third round along with Iva Jovic, Jessica Pegula, Coco Gauff and Claire Liu.
RYBAKINA THROUGH WITH MINIMUM FUSS
It was the end of the road for Caty McNally, however, as she ran into a roadblock in the form of 2022 champion Elena Rybakina and went down 6-1 6-2.
Keys progressed with a 6-1 6-4 win over local hope Katie Swan, who could not take advantage of the high-profile support in the Court One stands where Kate, Britain’s Princess of Wales, and tennis royal Andy Murray were sat.
Arthur Fery was also watched by Kate in his early games against Finnish qualifier Otto Virtanen on Court 18, and the 23-year-old wildcard went on to win 5-7 7-6(3) 6-3 6-3 on a sun-soaked morning at the All England Club.
She was gone by the time another British wildcard Jacob Fearnley fought for nearly three hours but succumbed eventually to Spaniard Jaume Munar 6-4 7-6(3) 6-4.
Even as media speculation swirled about Serena Williams’ participation in the women’s doubles event alongside her sister Venus after a knee injury, her singles conqueror Maya Joint fell 3-6 6-2 6-0 to Alexandra Eala of the Philippines.
Eala will now prepare for defending champion Iga Swiatek, who cleared a potentially dangerous hurdle with ease as she beat former world number one Karolina Pliskova 6-1 6-3.
(Reporting by Shrivathsa Sridhar in London; Editing by Alison Williams)
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