Teenager Amanda Anisimova shocks Aryna Sabalenka to reach Australian Open fourth round

Young gun: Amanda Anisimova stunned the 11th seed Aryna Sabalenka in the third round of the Australian Open.
AFP/Getty Images
Jonathan Barrett18 January 2019

Seventeen-year-old Amanda Anisimova burst into the big time with a stunning win over Aryna Sabalenka to reach the fourth round of the Australian Open.

The American teenager upstaged the 11th seed in comfortable fashion, winning 6-3 6-2 at the Margaret Court Arena to send the Belarusian crashing out.

It was her third consecutive straight sets victory in Melbourne, having already beat 24th seed Lesia Tsurenko and Monica Niculescu on her way to the third round.

Anisimova has been marked out for a big future for a while but this performance showed she is ready to make an impact at the latter stages of the grand slams right now.

Sabalenka, 20, has enjoyed her own rapid rise and went into the tournament as many pundits' pick for the title, but even her powerful game was no match for Anisimova.

The teenager looked like she played big matches on Margaret Court Arena and powered 21 winners past a bewildered Sabalenka, clinching victory in just 65 minutes of action.

Anisimova, the youngest competitor in the draw, will play the winner of Petra Kvitova and Belinda Bencic in the next round.

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