For second straight Slam, Anisimova defeats Sabalenka in straight sets

The match-up between 17-year-old Amanda Anisimova and 21-year-old Aryna Sabalenka is one we’ll hopefully be seeing many more times over the next decade. They are two of the most engaging personalities on tour. They have two of the most powerful games in tennis. They will only improve as players.

And given all that, odds are, they will someday give us a competitive contest.

The first two match-ups between the youngsters were hotly anticipated and on the game’s biggest stages. Which only makes Anisimova’s performances—a 6-3, 6-2 win in January at the Australian Open, and a 6-4, 6-2 win Thursday at Roland Garros—all the more impressive. In both tilts, the American prodigy matched, and regularly exceeded, Sabalenka’s pace with her groundstrokes, and she was more consistent in placing them around the court. Her backhand was a big reason why. It’s a more compact stroke than Sabalenka’s, but you’d never know it with the speeds it can reach, or the versatility it can showcase. On the run, it finds acute angles. With space, it begets winners crosscourt or down the line. On return, it gives her an immediate advantage in the point. Even returns of Sabalenka’s missed serves, which were plentiful today, looked oddly impressive.

That’s because Anisimova’s contact is practically flawless, already. Every backhand—and forehand, for that matter—seems to fly off her racquet’s sweet spot, demanding so much, so often, from her opponent. Sabalenka’s 35 unforced errors were far too many to make an impression against Anisimova in today’s second-rounder.

“We actually had short points here, too,” said Anisimova, referring to both of her wins over Sabalenka this season, on a hard court and now clay. “I thought it would be a little bit longer. We were still hitting pretty hard.”

At their best, Sabalenka’s forehand may still have the edge. Its longer setup leads to a massive shot, one I feel is already one of the game’s best. But the Belarusian didn’t hit enough of them in Paris, and Anisimova’s confidence and command of her serve was another decisive factor. Sabalenka hit eight double faults and won just 27 percent of her second-serve points. This offensive dynamo was seemingly always on the defensive.

On the intimate Bullring court at Roland Garros, Anisimova’s court coverage and passing shots had an added touch of flair. Court 1’s confines are the anthesis of Court Philippe Chatrier, where Anisimova should find herself soon—although even if she keeps winning, it might be a while: she can’t a face a seeded player until the quarterfinal round.

“I’m taking it one match at a time,” Anisimova—17 going on 27 when it comes to quotes—told Tennis Channel’s Chanda Rubin.

While Sabalenka has won all three of her WTA titles over the past 12 months, she’s still learning to think like a champion on a week-to-week basis. Her season has been pockmarked with puzzling results, considering her talent and recent breakthrough. Any prosperity she experienced today was inevitably followed by a letdown.

Anisimova, meanwhile, has just one WTA title to her credit—on clay, it should be said. Like Sabalenka, she’s still learning to think like a champion. But on Thursday, only one of them played like it.