Amanda Anisimova continued her impressive Australian Open campaign with a dominant straight-set victory on Saturday, advancing to the fourth round without losing a single set throughout the tournament. The fourth-seeded American faced Peyton Stearns in scorching Melbourne conditions at Margaret Court Arena, claiming a 6-1, 6-4 win in just 71 minutes.
Following her commanding performance, the 24-year-old discussed an important aspect of playing in Melbourne: the extreme weather conditions.
Amanda Anisimova Talks About the Florida Dominance on the WTA Tour
After the dominant win over compatriot Stearns, the interviewer asked Anisimova about the heat in Melbourne and how she manages to play with it. She also mentioned Jessica Pegula and Madison Keys, who are also from Florida, and asked how they deal with the hot conditions at Melbourne Park.
Anisimova acknowledged the Florida dominance in the USTA and answered the question. “Yeah, I’d say the Florida section in the USTA was pretty powerful. I think it’s just the fact that we had so many outdoor courts in the summer. It was always so hot. I hated training in the summer, but you know what? At least it paid off a little bit,” she said with a laugh.
Anisimova appreciated the challenging conditions, saying, “Yeah, it’s just great to be playing out here. And even when it’s so hot, it’s nice to have a challenge,” she said, showing how the Florida heat helped her perform on the world’s biggest stages.
Interestingly, the three Florida natives have been producing standout results at Melbourne Park. Keys, the tournament’s defending champion, beat former World No. 1 Karolína Plíšková with a 6-3, 6-3 victory that extended her unbeaten streak at the Australian Open to ten consecutive wins.
Pegula dispatched Russian Oksana Selekhmeteva 6-3, 6-2 in her own dominant performance, setting up one of the most intriguing matchups: Keys and Pegula in the 4R. Keys currently leads their head-to-head record 2-1 after defeating Pegula in the Adelaide International final in January 2025.
Anisimova’s Path Forward at the Australian Open
Anisimova entered the tournament as the fourth seed, just after achieving a career-high ranking of World No. 3 a week ago. Her strong 2025 season established her as one of the top contenders, highlighted by appearances in the Wimbledon and US Open finals, along with victories in two WTA 1000 titles at Doha and Beijing.
Against Stearns on Saturday, Anisimova controlled the match from the opening game. She dominated the first set in just over half an hour, breaking Stearns twice while losing just one game. The second set proved more competitive, with Stearns mounting a brief comeback to win two consecutive games after trailing 5-2.
However, Anisimova recovered quickly and closed out the victory, maintaining her perfect record of not dropping a single set at the tournament so far.
In the fourth round, Anisimova faces a likely matchup against the 13th seed, Linda Nosková, if she defeats Chinese player Xinyu Wang in their scheduled third-round encounter. According to PFSN’s exclusive interactive simulator, Anisimova has a 67% chance of winning and advancing to the quarterfinals in Melbourne for the first time in her career.
