Anisimova Overcomes Tagger: A Victory of First Strikes and the Points Defense Puzzle

Grandstand Court, New York, a pleasant September afternoon with temperatures at 80 degrees Fahrenheit. I sat in the press row, my forty-page notebook open to the page on the second-round match between Amanda Anisimova, the 10th seed, and the 18-year-old Austrian, Tagger. People look at the score; I look at the spaces on the court. And the space, from the very first game, told everything. Anisimova entered the match with a pattern that has become her trademark this season: serving well and getting plenty of first strikes off both wings. It is not a novel tactic, but the way she executed it in the first set was a masterpiece. She gave Tagger no time to breathe, no chance to take root on the hard court. I noted: 30 winners, double her opponent's count, and an equal number of unforced errors. That is the winning formula of an aggressive baseliner: hit harder, hit more accurately, and do not pay the price with careless mistakes. But in the second set, everything turned. Tagger, with the freedom of a young player with nothing to lose, began returning deeper and extending rallies. She read Anisimova's intentions. A double fault at 2-1 handed Tagger the opportunity, and the Austrian girl capitalized, winning four of the next five games. I looked at my notebook: Anisimova's unforced errors spiked. This was not a tactical collapse, but a dip in concentration. A top player who won the first set too easily against a younger opponent loosened up. That is a human error, not a technical one. What defines a top-10 player is the ability to self-correct. Anisimova entered the third set with a cold expression, something I have seen many times in champions. She re-established the first-set pattern: good serving, decisive first strikes. An early break, a 3-0 lead, then converting her seventh break point of the fourth game to go up 4-0. Tagger had no Plan B. She tried, but Anisimova's power was too much. The match ended 6-3, 3-6, 6-1. A convincing victory, but not without worrying moments. The context of this match goes beyond the score. Anisimova is defending 1,300 points from last year's US Open final. She is the runner-up, and every win this year is a step on a tightrope. If she loses in the third round, she will lose approximately 1,100 points, and the risk of dropping out of the top 10 is significant. That is an invisible pressure that not everyone sees. I remember the summer of 2026, when I followed Bastian Schweinsteiger at Chicago Fire. He did not score many goals, but he sacrificed silently to help his teammates shine. The silent sacrifice does not appear on the scoreboard, only in the footsteps of teammates. Anisimova is not a sacrifice, but she carries a points burden that not everyone understands. Her next opponent is Anastasia Potapova, the 24th seed. This is the first real test of the tournament. Tagger, despite her talent, is a rising player, making her US Open main-draw debut, facing her first top-10 opponent. Potapova is a different class. She hits flat, moves well, and has no fear of Anisimova. This match will tell us whether Anisimova is truly a serious title contender or just a player who knows how to win easy matches. I look back at my notebook. 30 winners, 15 unforced errors, 5 break points converted. These numbers do not lie. Anisimova won because she hit better, not because her opponent made more mistakes. That means her form is real. But there is also a weakness: she made as many unforced errors as an 18-year-old who just entered the top 50. If she faces a top-class defender like Swiatek, those errors will become fatal. The practice court has no spectators, but all the answers are there. I watched Anisimova practice before this match. She was focused, no small talk, just repeating crosscourt forehands. She knows that the match against Potapova will define her season. A win will take her into the second week, where big dreams are lit. A loss will push her out of the top 10 and raise questions about her ability to handle pressure. Tagger, on the other hand, leaves the tournament with a bright future. She won the Roland Garros junior title, won the WTA Prague title, became the youngest Austrian WTA title winner, and broke into the top 50 within months. She is a real talent, and I will follow her development in the coming years. But today, she learned a valuable lesson: at the Grand Slam level, the difference lies in sustaining pressure for three sets, not two. As I left Grandstand Court, I thought about the bigger question. Can Anisimova turn second-round wins into major titles? She reached two Grand Slam finals last year but has not won one. She is in the consolidation phase after returning from her mental-health break in 2026. Her numbers this season are excellent: 22-11 overall, 17-5 on hard courts. But those numbers need to be validated with wins over top-20 players. Potapova will be the first test. The match against Tagger showed us a strong Anisimova, but also revealed a weakness: inconsistent focus. She needs to address that if she wants to go deep. Because in the third round, fourth round, quarterfinals, opponents will not forgive dropped sets. They will punish immediately. I will return to the practice court tomorrow, observing how she prepares for the match against Potapova. The practice court has no spectators, but all the answers are there. And my forty-page notebook will continue to record, because it never lies.