Anisimova rebounds from slow start, sets up Raducanu showdown

Sixth-seeded Amanda Anisimova rallied from a set right down to defeat Anna Blinkova and advance to the third spherical of the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells on Friday evening. The American, aiming to succeed in her first finale this season on the WTA Tour Driven by Mercedes-Benzwill subsequent face Great Britain’s Emma Raducanu for a spot within the spherical of 16.

Blinkova, ranked No. 94 on the planet, received a topsy-turvy first set 7-5 that featured seven breaks of serve. Anisimova recovered to storm by way of the subsequent two sets, successful the ultimate 9 video games of the match to shut out a 5-7, 6-1, 6-0 victory in a single hour, 39 minutes.

While each gamers landed the same share of first serves (68.4% for Anisimova and 67.6% for Blinkova), the American received a better share of factors on each her first and second serves. Anisimova received 69.2% of her first-serve factors and 41.7% of her second-serve factors, in contrast with 52.1% and 17.4% for Blinkova.

The win snapped a three-match shedding streak for Anisimova at this occasion and improved her head-to-head document towards Blinkova to 2-0.

Anisimova is taking part in within the Indian Wells predominant draw for the seventh time. Her greatest end result got here in her debut look in 2018, when she reached the spherical of 16 earlier than shedding to Karolina Pliskova.

To match that end result this 12 months, she might want to defeat Raducanu within the subsequent spherical. The Brit earlier recorded a cushty 6-1, 6-3 win over Anastasia Zakharova in one other second-round match on Friday.

Raducanu holds a 2-1 edge over Anisimova of their profession conferences, all of which got here in 2025 on exhausting courts. The Brit received their second-round match on the Australian Open and their fourth-round conflict in Miami Openwhereas Anisimova received their most up-to-date assembly – a round-of-32 match in Montreal.