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Comeback queen Anisimova defies critics to close in on Wimbledon glory

Amanda Anisimova celebrates winning her semi-final against Aryna Sabalenka
Amanda Anisimova celebrates winning her semi-final against Aryna SabalenkaReuters / Toby Melville
Wimbledon finalist and part-time artist Amanda Anisimova said she might paint something with a 'lot of white and green' to illustrate her magical run at the All England Club.

She could even embellish it with a dab of silver too if she goes on to beat favourite Iga Swiatek and lift the Venus Rosewater Dish on Centre Court on Saturday.

"I typically do abstract, so it would be hard," the 23-year-old said, when asked what she might conjure up next, after stunning world number one Aryna Sabalenka 6-4, 4-6, 6-4 in Thursday's semi-final.

"Maybe it's some inspiration for me when I get back to make a piece."

There was plenty of inspiration on show, and no little grit, in Anisimova's tennis as she eclipsed top seed Sabalenka for much of a riveting duel, holding her nerve to convert her fourth match point against the increasingly vocal Belarusian.

Lesser players might have been intimidated by the sheer force of Sabalenka's shots and personality in their first Wimbledon semi-final. Instead, Anisimova went toe-to-toe with the three-time Grand Slam champion, refusing to give an inch.

Anisimova was even spoken to by the chair umpire at one stage in the second set after appearing to celebrate one winner with a roar while Sabalenka was still chasing her shot.

"I wasn't celebrating. It was just, like, a long grunt, I guess. I don't really know what the deal was there, because I didn't feel like it was interfering," she said.

"It was just such a high-stakes match. I think we were both grunting a lot out there. We have a big game, so that's the outcome of it."

The 13th seed also failed to acknowledge a slice of good fortune with a net cord during a rally late in the deciding set.

"She just wanted, I guess, badly to win this match," Sabalenka said. "It's on her if she doesn't feel like saying sorry."

Read more: Sabalenka takes swipe at Anisimova after loss in semi-final

It has been an incredible return to the top echelons of tennis for Anisimova. She burst onto the scene in a blaze of publicity and reached the quarter-finals here in 2022 before putting her career on hold in 2023, citing burnout.

A year ago, the American fell in the final round of the qualifying tournament, but has now reached new heights and will lock horns with Polish eighth seed Swiatek, who beat Swiss Belinda Bencic 6-2, 6-0, in her first Grand Slam final.

"I think it goes to show that it is possible (to come back)," Anisimova said of her spell away from the courts.

"When I took my break, a lot of people told me that you would never make it to the top again if you take so much time away.

"That was a little hard to digest because I did want to come back and still achieve a lot and win a Grand Slam one day."

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