Anisimova and Fritz through as Americans sparkle at Wimbledon

LONDON, July 2 : Amanda Anisimova survived an almighty scare against compatriot Sofia Kenin on Thursday to join a wave of American women marching into the third round of Wimbledon, while Taylor Fritz ensured the Stars and Stripes kept fluttering in the men's draw.

Twelve months after her 6-0 6-0 humbling by Iga Swiatek in the title clash, Anisimova was on the verge of another painful defeat after being dragged to three sets by former Australian Open champion Kenin but she came through 6-2 4-6 7-6(10-3).

The sixth seed's reward for a battling victory was a blockbuster Saturday showdown with another Grand Slam winner in Madison Keys, with the duo meeting as their country marks the 250th anniversary of its independence.

Anisimova admitted there were "really awful" moments in her match and she was bailed out by her huge serve, after she fired down 20 aces.

"I never thought I'd say this, but thank you to my serve, I'm not a good server at all but after today, I can say that I am," a beaming Anisimova said on court.

"I'm really happy with my performance, especially with the end. Shout out to Sofia, she's such a good opponent and a real fighter ... I was down and told myself to keep fighting.

"I tried to bring myself back to the present moment. I try to remind myself — have fun, you're playing at Wimbledon. These are the matches I train for, the tough ones, the fun ones."

FRITZ EMERGING AS GENUINE CONTENDER

Fritz had an enjoyable outing in his own all-American clash on Court Two and the 2025 semi-finalist, a genuine contender on grass with his huge serve, advanced with a 6-2 6-2 7-5 victory over Patrick Kypson.

The sixth seed joined U.S. colleagues Marcos Giron and Zachary Svajda in advancing, with Michael Zheng, Tommy Paul and Jenson