The "Medicine Child" breaks Osaka's streak to claim an $18 million prize, netizens say: helping her "mom" defeat the bookmakers at the US Open.

The American girl Anisimova, dubbed the "Medicine Child," overturned Naomi Osaka in a comeback victory! Post-match, many felt this was yet another blessing from above for the "gifted young player," offering her a renewed opportunity to chase a Grand Slam championship and compensate for the significant disappointment at Wimbledon!

When Anisimova reached her first Grand Slam final at Wimbledon this year, she was hailed as living up to her prodigy reputation, but soon after, she was humiliated with a double bagel by Swiatek, leaving a very poor Grand Slam final record.

Even though Anisimova avenged herself against Swiatek in the US Open quarterfinals, many remained skeptical about whether she could defeat the four-time Grand Slam champion Naomi Osaka in the semifinals.

The foremost skeptics were the bookmakers! Their odds showed Anisimova at 2.1, lower than Osaka's 1.73, clearly not favoring the American girl to reach the final.

While Anisimova’s supporters were unhappy with the bookmakers' odds, the US Open officials were evidently upset by how the bookmakers treated their "homegirl" Anisimova, backing her strongly with a 71% winning support rate against Osaka’s 29%.

As a result, fans and netizens jokingly called this high-profile match a "brawl between the US Open officials and the bookmakers," eagerly waiting to see who would ultimately prevail!

From the first set, with Osaka breaking serve early to take control and Anisimova chasing from behind, many watching live believed it would be very difficult for the American to beat Osaka. Nervous supporters lamented that breaking the Japanese player's streak of always reaching the final after making the US Open semifinals seemed nearly impossible. This comment immediately gave rise to more doubts about Anisimova’s chances.

Especially when Anisimova finally caught up and stood shoulder to shoulder with Osaka, giving her fans a sigh of relief, she then lost the first set tiebreak, and at that moment, the sentiment that "no one can break Osaka's streak" left many speechless.

Entering the second set, even more people feared that Anisimova might become the US Open’s second biggest spoiler this year.

For some unknown reason, whenever the American girl managed to break serve and take the lead, she immediately stopped playing well, giving Osaka chances to equalize and failing to maintain her advantage. This was why the second set also went to a tiebreak.

Fortunately, this time Anisimova avoided the mistakes she made in the first set tiebreak, showing grit and managing to even the overall score.

Winning the second set at such a critical moment was extremely important for Anisimova; from the start of the deciding set, her confidence was visibly different from before.

Completely overpowering Osaka in momentum, Anisimova withstood the Japanese player’s intense comeback pressure in her serving game to close out the match 6-3, advancing to the final at the US Open after Wimbledon.

Only after Anisimova’s victory was confirmed did her supporters in the live broadcast boldly celebrate. Some admitted that after losing the first set and struggling in the second, they once feared she might become the biggest spoiler, like Vondrousova, but at the crucial moment, she proved herself, showing that the “tuition fee” paid at the Wimbledon final was not wasted.

When Osaka left the court with a disappointed expression, it officially marked the end of her streak of always winning the US Open after reaching the semifinals.

Though this outcome was somewhat harsh for the Japanese player, her performance at the US Open has strongly confirmed that she has made a powerful comeback. The upcoming Asian season will surely be livelier with a top competitor like Osaka in the mix.

While praising Anisimova, fans and netizens said she truly made her “mom” proud at the US Open, not letting down the 71% winning support rate given to her, effectively “fighting off the bookmakers and helping win this off-court battle.”

This victory earned Anisimova $2.5 million in prize money, nearly 18 million RMB, and many now believe the American girl has a great chance to lift the trophy.

The reason is that, judging by her impressive win over Sabalenka at Wimbledon, Anisimova is fully capable of beating the world number one. Making it to another Grand Slam final now further fuels her motivation and complicates Sabalenka’s defense of her title.

In response to the final and the title fight against Anisimova, Sabalenka reflected on her Wimbledon loss, admitting she gave the American too many chances, saying, “I doubted many of my decisions, which caused a lot of unforced errors.” She firmly stated this time she intends to “play every point well,” leaving no regrets.(Source: Tennis Home, Author: Moonlit River’s Starry Sky)