Australian Open -- Amanda Anisimova 'refreshed' after 2023 break - ESPN

Amanda Anisimova shook her clenched fists, smiled and let out a deep breath.

While the 6-3, 6-4 score might not have indicated it, nor her dominant play, the 22-year-old American had just won her first major match in over 17 months. As the elated Australian Open crowd cheered her on, the relief was evident all over her face as she walked to the net to shake hands with her opponent, Liudmila Samsonova.

On Tuesday, she found magic yet again with another straight-set victory in Melbourne over Nadia Podoroska. And now, Anisimova is back into the third round at a major for the first time since 2022. She will take on former world No. 2 Paula Badosa on Thursday.

While it's her seventh major third-round appearance, and third at the Australian Open, this one is perhaps the most improbable. Having stepped away from the game for most of the 2023 season for an indefinite mental health break following months of poor on-court results, it was unclear for a time whether she would play again. But during her time away, Anisimova spent time with her family and friends, enrolled in on-campus college classes, traveled with friends and cultivated her passion for art — and rediscovered her love for tennis along the way. She made her return in Auckland earlier this month.

«I feel a lot more refreshed,» Anisimova said this week. «I'm enjoying practicing. I'm enjoying every second that I'm out there. Even when I was down today, I was still just enjoying the challenge.

»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."

On May 5, Anisimova shocked the tennis world with an Instagram post.

«I've really been struggling with