American teenager Anisimova upsets Svitolina in Qatar

Wednesday, 26 February 2020 00:48 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

FILE PHOTO: Tennis - Wimbledon - All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club, London, Britain - July 2, 2019 Amanda Anisimova of the U.S. in action during her first round match against Romania's Sorana-Mihaela Cirstea - Reuters

Reuters: American teenager Amanda Anisimova claimed the third victory of her career over a top-10 player on Monday by stunning fifth seed Elina Svitolina 6-3 6-3 in the Qatar Open second round.

Anisimova, who last beat a top-10 opponent on the way to her first Grand Slam semi-final at the French Open last year, struck 27 winners in a display of relentless aggression and saved all three break points on her own serve.

Svitolina, who finished the 2019 season as runner-up to Ash Barty at the WTA Finals, has struggled this year, having reached just one quarter-final at the Thailand Open after a third-round Australian Open exit. Anisimova, 18, will next meet either former world number two Svetlana Kuznetsova or Polish teenager Iga Swiatek.