12 hours ago
11
Key events Show key events only Please turn on JavaScript to use this feature
Already today, Joe Salisbury and Neal Skupski have fallen agonisingly short in their attempt to become the first all-British pair since 1903 to win the men’s doubles title. They had three match points in the third set, before being edged out 3-6, 7-6, 7-5 by Spain’s Marcel Granollers and Argentina’s Horacio Zeballos, who also won the French Open title together this year. And look who’s celebrating:
Preamble
Tennis, bloody hell. 56 days ago Amanda Anisimova was whitewashed in the Wimbledon final 6-0, 6-0 by Iga Swiatek as she froze in the headlights in the biggest match of her life. It was the most public and painful of humiliations from which most of us, if put in the same position, would not recover, let alone have the character to return to the tour less than three weeks later as she started her preparations for the US Open.
And now here the 24-year-old is in the final of her home grand slam, having gained the sweetest of revenge against Swiatek in the quarter-finals, and she’ll be fortified by the knowledge she can beat Aryna Sabalenka when it matters, having defeated the Belarusian in three sets in their Wimbledon semi-final. Get the better of Sabalenka again and Anisimova’s redemption story would rank among the greatest in tennis, along with Jana Novotna winning Wimbledon in 1998 after heartbreak five years earlier, Jennifer Capriati going to hell and back before finally becoming a major champion in 2001 and Andre Agassi returning from the tennis wilderness to claim his career slam in 1999. And doing it in New York, not far from where Anisimova was born in New Jersey, would add a shine that not even Broadway could make up.
But Sabalenka is in the slightly curious position of needing to prove herself too, despite being the defending champion, world No 1 and top seed. She’s got her own ghosts of grand slams past to banish, having also let her emotions get the better of her in the crucial moments this year. After losing to Madison Keys in the Australian Open final, Coco Gauff in the French Open final and Anisimova in that Wimbledon semi, this match represents her last chance to end a year of what-ifs with a significant triumph.
So both want their own form of redemption – and Sabalenka probably wants a bit of revenge too. If I could, I’d call the two of them as the US Open champion – Sabalenka arguably deserves a slam for her efforts this year, but who would deny Anisimova such a heartwarming comeback for the ages? – but alas, that’s not possible. So let’s just hope, for both their sakes, that this time these huge hitters can show courage and composure every bit as big as their shots.
The players will arrive at about: 4pm New York time/9pm BST.
In the meantime: here’s a trip down memory lane:
