US OPEN

September 3, 2020

Amanda Anisimova

Press Conference

A. ANISIMOVA/K. Scott

4-6, 6-4, 6-1

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

Q. What were you thinking at 4-All? What was going through your mind at that moment? Did you still feel you were in it?

AMANDA ANISIMOVA: Well, the whole match I felt like I was in it. I was definitely very nervous, so it was very hard to go for my shots the way I normally would. I was just trying to be consistent.

She just kept making unbelievable shots, playing very well. I was just fighting the whole time because I knew I could come back at any time, just play it point by point and do the best that I can.

Q. Is that mentality something that comes with experience?

AMANDA ANISIMOVA: I don't know because I've had so many matches where I'm down, then I start freaking out. It takes a lot of experience to become good at it because it's so easy in tennis to have a mental breakdown and lose the match. I was really scared of that happening.

I just kept fighting and staying strong. I'm really happy with that today because in tennis, like, it can slip away from you any second.

Q. When you played your US Open junior final, you had a whole lot more fans than you had out there today. Can you compare what it was like? A lot of people say in the juniors you're used to no fans.

AMANDA ANISIMOVA: Yeah, for sure. In the match I kept thinking, like, Oh, my gosh, I can't believe this is US Open, where is everybody. It's definitely, like, a huge bummer, I'm not going to lie, pretend like it's not, because it is.

At the end of the day here it's all about winning. That's the only thing that matters at this point. But it is really upsetting. It does cross my mind a lot that there's, like, nobody here to cheer you on, so...

Q. A lot of the players say they put fans in their head, accommodate. What do you do?

AMANDA ANISIMOVA: Well, my coach is there with me. I just look at him for support because that's the only person there that's going to be on my side. Yeah, whether it's my coach or my mom, I just look for them.

Q. What, if anything, did you know about your opponent today going into the match? What, if anything, made an impression on you today?

AMANDA ANISIMOVA: I didn't know much at all about her. Going into the match, I was trying not to focus too much on her game. I've never practiced with her, so there's no point on me looking how she plays. It was just really focusing on myself and my game.

Yeah, she's younger than me so I was going to be nervous. But I was just trying to block that out, go out there and play like it's any other player.

I'm very surprised with how she was playing. I'm sure that she has a really bright future ahead of her. She was serving so big, just playing very well. Yeah, I was very impressed with her game.

Q. Is it weird for you to have a younger player across the way?

AMANDA ANISIMOVA: Yeah, it was weird because I've actually never played someone who is younger than me in a Grand Slam. It was a first for me. I was pretty nervous.

But it was just reminding me a lot of that final with Coco. I was nervous for that, too. She was a lot younger than me. It was very similar to that match.

Q. Obviously there's a lot of promising young American women playing in this tournament. Do you work with each other? Is there a camaraderie? Group chats or anything like that?

AMANDA ANISIMOVA: I don't know. I don't really practice too much at the USTA. I'm mostly practice at home in Miami. It's hard to find players there. There aren't many Americans that live there.

I'm friends with a couple, friends with Caroline and Jenny. We have a group chat. That's pretty much it.

Q. Can you talk about playing Maria Sakkari next.

AMANDA ANISIMOVA: I never played against her before. I know she's a really good player. She won two matches here. I mean, I'm looking forward to playing with her. It's always exciting playing a player I've never played before. It's going to be something new.

My game is getting better with each match, so I'm feeling pretty confident.