Anisimova avoids Wimbledon upset with 20 aces in win over Kenin. Swiatek, Zverev also advance

LONDON (AP) — Amanda Anisimova served three of her 20 aces in the deciding tiebreaker to hold off Sofia Kenin 6-2, 4-6, 7-6 (3) and reach the third round at Wimbledon on Thursday as Kate, the Princess of Wales, visited the All England Club.

Anisimova, who was consoled by Kate a year ago after being routed by Iga Swiatek in the final, trailed 3-1 in the third set before she broke back in the sixth game against her fellow American, the 2020 Australian Open champion who is now ranked No. 105.

“Some moments were really awful. I’m just so happy through to the next round,” Anisimova said on No. 2 Court. “I never thought that I’d be saying this — but thank you to my serve today,” she added. “I’m not an amazing server. Now, I can finally say I can serve pretty good.”

The sixth-seeded Anisimova whacked her racket on her leg at one point in the deciding set.

“I was down 3-1 and I told myself to just keep fighting and this might be your last moments at Wimbledon … just try and maybe have fun and enjoy it,” said Anisimova, who will next face another American, 26th-seeded Madison Keys. “I try to remind myself, just have fun, you are playing at Wimbledon. I do get hard on myself sometimes.”

Swiatek, who beat Anisimova 6-0, 6-0 for the 2025 title on Centre Court, needed just 70 minutes to get past 2021 Wimbledon finalist Karolina Pliskova 6-1, 6-3.

The defending champion next gets Filipino rising star Alexandra Eala, who rallied to beat Maya Joint 3-6, 6-2, 6-0. On Tuesday, Joint spoiled Serena Williams’ singles comeback.

Second-seeded Elena Rybakina, the 2022 champion at the All England Club, made quick work of Caty McNally 6-1, 6-2 and will face Belgium’s Elise Mertens, seeded 25th, for a spot in the last 16.

Fritz emulates Tiafoe with tear-away pants

A well-dressed Taylor Fritz impressed again, beating compatriot Patrick Kypson 6-2, 6-2, 7-5 to reach the third round.

Fritz’s white blazer and NBA-style warmup pants for his walk-on at No. 2 Court drew attention but his play wasn’t bad either — he fired 19 aces and avoided getting pushed into a fourth set.

The sixth-seeded American, a semifinalist last year, emphatically pumped his right fist when he broke Kypson to convert his fourth match point.

Fritz also won his opener in straight sets and had worn a similar outfit with tear-away warmup pants — designed to easily unbutton as you pull them off in one tug.

“I took it off slowly in the first round. I kind of actually made a mess of it,” Fritz said in his media conference. “It’s actually just a lot easier to just rip them off. I saw a video of Frances (Tiafoe) doing it. I was just trying to copy him today. ”

Later, an equally dapper Tiafoe showed how it’s done — earning applause for quickly pulling off the bottoms before his match against Jan Choinksi. The 17th-seeded Tiafoe won 4-6, 6-2, 7-5, 6-2.

“I had a lot of momentum from the end of the third,” the American said in his on-court interview. “I just wanted to try to get an early break and take his soul a little bit, take his belief away, and that’s kind of what happened.”

Naomi Osaka’s fashion statements have made her court walk-ons must-see viewing at Grand Slam tournaments — Wimbledon included.

Also Thursday, second-seeded Alexander Zverev and fifth-seeded Alex de Minaur recorded straight-set victories.

Matteo Berrettini, who lost the 2021 Wimbledon final to Novak Djokovic, beat 20th-seeded Arthur Fils 6-4, 7-5, 3-6, 6-3 on Centre Court.

Berrettini will next face wild-card entry Grigor Dimitrov, who eliminated 15th-seeded Jakub Mensik 7-6 (5), 4-6, 7-5, 6-3. Last year, Dimitrov was leading his fourth-round match against eventual champion Jannik Sinner but stopped playing because of an injured pectoral muscle.

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AP tennis: https://apnews.com/hub/tennis