MELBOURNE: Amanda Anisimova said she was feeling refreshed and enjoying herself after upsetting 13th-seeded Liudmila Samsonova on her return to Grand Slam tennis Sunday following a break to deal with mental health issues.
The 22-year-old American came out on top in her Australian Open first-round clash 6-3, 6-4, two weeks after returning to action in Auckland following a period of just under eight months away.
“I’m here and feeling good, so we made it,” she said, after stepping back from the sport in May, saying it was “unbearable” being at tennis tournaments, citing mental health issues and burnout.
“I’m just here for the journey right now and seeing how much I can progress.”
The 2019 Roland Garros semi-finalist had to battle back from a break down in both sets against Samsonova, including a 4-1 deficit in the second set.
But she methodically pulled herself back into contention before closing out the match.
“The most important thing is that I feel a lot more refreshed. I’m enjoying practising. I’m enjoying every second that I’m out there,” she said.
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“Even when I was down today, I was still just enjoying the challenge.
“Yeah, I’m just happy with how I feel coming back. I feel like I was very burned out while I was playing, and that really wasn’t a nice feeling. Being able to just reset is really nice.”
Anisimova will next play either Argentina’s Nadia Podoroska or Slovakia’s Tamara Zidansek.
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