Amanda Anisimova suggests she dealt with some kind of illness during her Montreal round-of-16 match and that played a part in her sloppy performance against Elina Svitolina.
The American, who was playing her first tournament since making her maiden Grand Slam final at Wimbledon, won her opening two matches at the Canadian Open in straight sets, including an impressive 6-2 6-1 victory over Emma Raducanu.
But the level from the Raducanu match was nowhere to be found on Sunday, when Anisimova took on Svitolina and lost 4-6 1-6.
Early in the match, it was actually the fifth-seeded American who made the better start and earned an early break for a 2-1 lead. In the rest of the match, the 2025 Wimbledon runner-up won a total of three games.
Overall, it was a tough day for Anisimova, who had four double faults – won only 30 percent of her second serve points – managed to convert only one of her nine break points – and also lost her serve four times.
Anisimova's Instagram message following the Svitolina loss in Montreal
"Fell a bit ill today, but gave it my all regardless. Thank you always Canada," the 23-year-old wrote on Instagram.
Anisimova may have felt ill but Svitolina seemingly didn't notice any of that during their match. Following her big Montreal win, the 10th-seeded Ukrainian didn't hide her happiness.
“It was a great performance from me tonight. I’m happy I could play well and move well because Amanda is such a big striker. I had to be physically strong. Very happy I could do it well today," the Ukrainian said after ousting the American.
Meanwhile, Anisimova will hope to quickly resolve whatever she is dealing with as Cincinnati is already starting on Thursday.
