Amanda Anisimova staged a remarkable comeback to defeat Iga Swiatek 6-7 (3/7), 6-4, 6-2 in the WTA Finals at Riyadh's King Saud University Indoor Arena on Wednesday, securing her place in the semifinals alongside Elena Rybakina , who maintained her perfect record with a straight-sets victory over Madison Keys ' replacement Ekaterina Alexandrova.
Fourth-seeded Anisimova finished second in the Serena Williams Group behind Rybakina, who completed round-robin play with a 3-0 record after defeating Russian alternate Alexandrova 6-4, 6-4.
Anisimova improved her three-set record this season to 15-3 and recorded her tenth top-10 win of the year.
"It's so funny, my mom keeps telling me: 'You know you've won like so many three-set matches this year? You're so strong'. I was actually thinking about that. Against Iga today it was so, so tough, but honestly, I enjoyed it," said Anisimova, who reached the finals at Wimbledon and the US Open this year.
"I'm so excited (to be in the semi-finals), this is surreal, especially for my first time playing here."
The match was a continuation of their rivalry, with Swiatek having won their Wimbledon final encounter and Anisimova prevailing in their US Open quarter-final meeting.
The opening set saw Swiatek save all four break points before claiming the tiebreak in 65 minutes.
Anisimova managed to break Swiatek's serve in the tenth game of the second set to level the match.
In the final set, Anisimova broke through in the fourth game following a Swiatek double-fault and secured another break to win the match in two hours and 36 minutes.
This marked the first time in Swiatek's career that she has lost two consecutive matches after winning the opening set.
"I felt good mentally, physically, and tennis-wise also it was nice, looking at the conditions and everything; so, I don't really get why I couldn't go out of the group," said Swiatek. "Maybe I won too much in the last years and this is karma. It's really hard for me to say. It feels weird. It's not like I'm expecting (to win), but from my experiences, if I put so much intensity and grit and I cared that much, it usually paid off. So we'll see if I keep working if it's going to pay off or not."
In the earlier match, Rybakina continued her impressive form, extending her winning streak to nine matches with her victory over Alexandrova.
"Ekaterina is always a tough opponent and has a big serve. I'm happy I was able to win in straight sets. Each win gives you confidence and I'm pretty happy that for now my last matches have been great," said Rybakina, who played with tape on her shoulder.
Alexandrova entered the tournament as a replacement for Madison Keys, who withdrew due to a viral illness.
The Australian Open champion Swiatek ended her campaign with two losses in round-robin play and failed to advance to the knockout stage.
The Stefanie Graf Group will conclude on Thursday with top seed Aryna Sabalenka facing defending champion Coco Gauff, while Jessica Pegula is scheduled to play Jasmine Paolini, though the Italian has reported feeling unwell.
Fourth-seeded Anisimova finished second in the Serena Williams Group behind Rybakina, who completed round-robin play with a 3-0 record after defeating Russian alternate Alexandrova 6-4, 6-4.
Anisimova improved her three-set record this season to 15-3 and recorded her tenth top-10 win of the year.
"It's so funny, my mom keeps telling me: 'You know you've won like so many three-set matches this year? You're so strong'. I was actually thinking about that. Against Iga today it was so, so tough, but honestly, I enjoyed it," said Anisimova, who reached the finals at Wimbledon and the US Open this year.
"I'm so excited (to be in the semi-finals), this is surreal, especially for my first time playing here."
The match was a continuation of their rivalry, with Swiatek having won their Wimbledon final encounter and Anisimova prevailing in their US Open quarter-final meeting.
The opening set saw Swiatek save all four break points before claiming the tiebreak in 65 minutes.
Anisimova managed to break Swiatek's serve in the tenth game of the second set to level the match.
In the final set, Anisimova broke through in the fourth game following a Swiatek double-fault and secured another break to win the match in two hours and 36 minutes.
This marked the first time in Swiatek's career that she has lost two consecutive matches after winning the opening set.
"I felt good mentally, physically, and tennis-wise also it was nice, looking at the conditions and everything; so, I don't really get why I couldn't go out of the group," said Swiatek. "Maybe I won too much in the last years and this is karma. It's really hard for me to say. It feels weird. It's not like I'm expecting (to win), but from my experiences, if I put so much intensity and grit and I cared that much, it usually paid off. So we'll see if I keep working if it's going to pay off or not."
In the earlier match, Rybakina continued her impressive form, extending her winning streak to nine matches with her victory over Alexandrova.
"Ekaterina is always a tough opponent and has a big serve. I'm happy I was able to win in straight sets. Each win gives you confidence and I'm pretty happy that for now my last matches have been great," said Rybakina, who played with tape on her shoulder.
Alexandrova entered the tournament as a replacement for Madison Keys, who withdrew due to a viral illness.
The Australian Open champion Swiatek ended her campaign with two losses in round-robin play and failed to advance to the knockout stage.
The Stefanie Graf Group will conclude on Thursday with top seed Aryna Sabalenka facing defending champion Coco Gauff, while Jessica Pegula is scheduled to play Jasmine Paolini, though the Italian has reported feeling unwell.
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