Potapova stuns No. 10 seed Anisimova to reach US Open fourth round

Potapova reached the fourth round at the US Open for the first time this season after defeating Amanda Anisimova 6-2, 7-5. With powerful winners and sharp court reading, the Russian sent last year's runner-up off the court in 1 hour 39 minutes. In a match where serve statistics were not disclosed, Potapova's victory still sent a clear message: she did not need a full match to find her opponent's weakness. The first set ended quickly at 6-2. Anisimova was helpless against deep return positions, pushed out of her favorite spots. In the second set she fought harder, reaching 5-5 before Potapova earned the decisive break at 5-6 and then served out the match. The difference came from mindset. Potapova did not try to extend rallies. She prioritized closing points early with crosscourt forehands, a deliberate choice on the fast hard court. Anisimova, known for her strong baseline resilience, never found the rhythm to breathe. Potapova clearly chose the right tactic: take risks at key moments rather than let her opponent rebuild confidence. The counterintuitive insight is that a win over the No. 10 seed does not prove Potapova is on another level. She still has to show she can maintain this level. What she displayed was efficiency rather than full dominance. No impressive first-serve numbers or return statistics were published. The runner-up came into the match with uneven form, and Potapova partly took advantage. Now she will face the winner between No. 5 seed Mirra Andreeva and Czech qualifier Nikola Bartunkova. If Andreeva advances, it will be a far bigger test. Andreeva moves well and hits early, a style that will force Potapova to diversify. If she meets Bartunkova, she will be favored, but qualifiers have nothing to lose. Tactically, Potapova must improve her second serve. In the second set she was often under pressure when serving, dropping second deliveries into the middle. Anisimova had chances but wasted them. A top-5 opponent like Andreeva will punish that weakness. Another quick victory is unlikely if she hopes to go deeper. The most valuable moment of the match was not the final winner. It was a moment late in the second set, after repeated delays due to crowd noise, when Potapova looked down at her strings, took a deep breath and then served. In those few seconds, the match stopped being about numbers; it became about a woman controlling her heartbeat. When the crowd goes quiet, you can hear the match breathing. Of course, a single win cannot define a career. But for those watching closely, this is an intriguing signal: she is becoming a player who knows how to win important matches with sharpness rather than simply relying on raw power. Her greatest potential lies not in her strength but in making the right choice at the right time—like a screenwriter placing characters in the right situations so the story tells itself. Reaching the fourth round of the US Open is a milestone. But the real campaign begins when she faces a higher seed. The biggest question now is not whether Potapova can shock anyone again, but whether she has enough patience to build each match as the next chapter rather than a one-off performance. Elite sport does not reward improvisation; it honors those who turn a single win into a story that has an ending.