Iron-Willed Amanda Anisimova prevails over Paolini at China Open, complete All-American semifinal against Coco Gauff

Amanda Anisimova secured her passage to the China Open semifinals after a battle of nearly three hours against Jasmine Paolini, winning 6-7(4), 6-3, 6-4. The World No. 4 prevailed in a tough fight against the Italian to ensure an all-American clash against the defending champion, Coco Gauff.

This was the only quarterfinal match where both favorites from their respective sections of the draw met, and it lived up to expectations. The American had won their only previous encounter back in Parma 2021—though that was on clay-courts and both players were in a very different place in their careers than they are now as two established Top 10 players on the Tour.

From the first set, both players were solid on their serve, with Anisimova looking slightly better in terms of first serves in (73% to 69%), as well as effectiveness (66% against Paolini's 54%). Despite this, the Italian managed to pull through her service games without major difficulty, maintaining parity without setbacks up to 3-3, with no break points yet played.

The first to get an opportunity was Anisimova, who capitalized on her first chance in the 7th game to take the lead. In the next game, she saved two break points against her serve and moved ahead 5-3. However, Paolini's reaction followed: she held her serve and immediately broke back, sending everything to a tie-break. There, an early advantage of two mini-breaks ultimately gave Paolini the set 7-6[7-4] after just over an hour of play.

Despite the Italian taking the advantage, Anisimova did not back down and took command of the game at the start of the second set. Opportunities arrived for the American, who secured two consecutive breaks and, with excellent service games, took a comfortable 4-0 lead. Although the Italian managed to recover one of the breaks, it wasn't enough to mount a comeback in the set.

Anisimova held her remaining serves—saving a break point along the way—and ultimately took the second set 6-3. The World No. 4 re-entered the match playing much more aggressively than her opponent. Paolini had increased her first serve consistency (80%), but was winning only 50% of service points due to errors and Anisimova’s high number of winners from both forehand and backhand.

Tension was alive from the start of the third set, with Anisimova breaking only for Paolini to break back immediately. Most games were close, but neither player could gain an advantage for much of the set, trading service holds up to 3-3.

Paolini went up 4-3 and then had up to six break opportunities—which could have put her in an unbeatable position to close out the victory. Anisimova's resilience ultimately paid off; after escaping a complicated game to hold serve and maintain parity (4-4), she was emotionally sharper. Paolini started the next game up 30-0 but couldn't hold the lead. Anisimova then strung together eight consecutive points at the end of the match, securing the break and ensuring the victory 6-7(4), 6-3, 6-4 and her passage to the semifinals.

The World No. 4 is in a WTA 1000 semifinal for the third time in her career, having reached the final of the Canadian Open 2024 and resulting champion in Qatar at the start of this season. Her next challenge will be an all-American clash against Coco Gauff—who easily defeated Eva Lys. The current head-to-head between the Americans is 1-1, although their last encounter was in 2022 and they have never faced each other on hardcourts.