On Saturday, American professional tennis player Amanda Anisimova joined the growing list of top-ranked competitors to be eliminated in the initial three rounds of the Roland Garros championship.
Anisimova, ranked as the sixth seed within the women’s bracket, competed against the unseeded participant, Diane Parry.
Parry secured the opening set with a score of 6-3, benefiting from the supportive audience of her home country. Considering the unpredictable nature and numerous upsets observed in the tournament’s preliminary stages for both male and female contenders, Anisimova appeared poised for an early departure.
The player from the United States mounted a comeback in the subsequent set, clinching it 6-4 to necessitate a decisive third set in the contest.
In the concluding set, Anisimova held a 5-4 lead with an opportunity to break Parry’s serve for victory; however, the French player maintained her composure, leveling the set at five games each.
The player from the United States successfully held her serve as the third set advanced to 6-5. Attention focused on Parry, questioning if she could defend her serve to compel a tiebreaker, or if Anisimova would secure the triumph and progress.
Parry demonstrated resilience, compelling the contest into a tiebreaker. The scoring rules diverge in tiebreakers: The competitor who first reaches 10 points is declared the winner, with the stipulation that they must achieve a two-point margin.
The tiebreaker stood level at 3-3, after which Parry proceeded to score seven consecutive points, resulting in a 10-3 victory.
For the first time in her professional career, the 23-year-old Parry is set to participate in the fourth round of Roland Garros. On Monday, she is scheduled to compete against the unranked Maja Chwalinska, with advancement to the quarterfinals at stake.
Anisimova now adds her name to an expanding roster of highly-seeded competitors who have been eliminated during the initial stages of this year’s competition.
Among the top 10 seeded players who have exited in the first three rounds of the singles competitions are Jessica Pegula (No. 5, 1st round), Elena Rybakina (No. 2, 2nd round), Alexander Bublik (No. 9, 1st round), Daniil Medvedev (No. 6, 1st round), Taylor Fritz (No. 7, 1st round), Ben Shelton (No. 5, 2nd round), Jannik Sinner (No. 1, 2nd round), Alex de Minaur (No. 8, 3rd round), and Novak Djokovic (No. 3, 3rd round), in addition to Anisimova.
