It is the happy final; a step into unknown for Swiatek and Anisimova

For both Iga Swiatek and Amanda Anisimova this is a step into the unknown.

True, Swiatek has been in five Grand Slam finals before and never lost (she has four Roland-Garros trophies and one US Open title to prove it) but her best result here until now was a quarter-final finish. This is all new to her.

Anisimova (main picture) has never played a Grand Slam final on any surface before. Until now, her best result was reaching the Roland-Garros semi-finals six years ago.

And they have never played each other in a Tour-level match before.

Their routes to the final and to happiness are vastly different but the end result appears to be the same: they are excited but not panicked by the challenge ahead of them. That bodes well.

The American’s well documented journey from teenage wunderkind to mental burnout, an eight-month break from the Tour and a slow climb back to a semblance of her former glories, gives her a sense of pride. She has done what people said was, if not impossible, then highly unlikely. She has done it her way.

“I think it goes to show that it is possible,” she said. “I think that’s a really special message that I’ve been able to show because when I took my break, a lot of people told me that you would never make it to the top again if you take so much time away from the game. That was a little hard to digest because I did want to come back and still achieve a lot and win a Grand Slam one day.”

Proving everyone wrong brings confidence. Having a big, power game, one that dealt with the world No.1 in three sets on Thursday, reinforces that belief. And even if she did admit that there would be nerves before the final, the inner strength is intact.

Anisimova stuns Sabalenka

“For sure, that’s going to be coming into play a bit, keeping our nerves at bay and staying composed,” Anisimova said.

“I would say we’re both pretty experienced. Obviously, I haven’t been in a Grand Slam final before, but I’ve experienced a lot of moments similar and a lot of high-stakes matches. I feel like I’m pretty prepared.

“I always tell myself ahead of the game to enjoy every moment, not really concentrate on the finish line or the outcome, and just to really stay in the present. So I’ll just keep telling myself that.”

Swiatek, too, seems happier than she has ever been in SW19. Usually, she comes here as the Roland-Garros champion. Winning in Paris takes its physical and mental toll.

More than that, though, she usually arrives in Paris on the back of consecutive clay court tournament victories, meaning she has had little time to rest and recover.

Coming into this final, she has not won a title since Roland-Garros last year and after losing in Paris in the semi-finals, she took herself off to Bad Homburg and, for once, played a grass court event before The Championships began. And reached the final. She has won more matches on grass this season than in any other year.

“I think it’s easier if you haven’t won Roland-Garros and also if you had more time to practise,” she said. “If I win Roland-Garros and then I come here and everybody asks me about [winning Wimbledon], they put, like, super high expectations. It’s not logical for me. I feel sometimes I can handle it better or ignore it. Sometime it’s a bit worse. When you’re playing well, it’s easy to enjoy. But I would say this is the main difference.”

The end result is that, this year, she has happily been telling the world that the balls are talking to her this summer (whispering sweet nothings judging by the flawless display she put on beat Belinda Bencic), that she has been enjoying playing on grass and even discussing her eating habits (strawberries with pasta is, apparently, very popular in Poland). This is a different Swiatek to the quiet, more introverted woman who has struggled here in the past.

Swiatek too hot for Bencic

She was not particularly forthcoming about Anisimova – “For sure, she must be playing great,” was as far as she would go – but neither was Anisimova giving much away about her thoughts on Swiatek. “Iga’s an unbelievable player. She’s also been an inspiration to me,” was all she would say.

Both of them are far too experienced to let slip any nugget of information or admission of weakness before such an important match.

The final will either be the story of the young woman who had the courage to jump off the hamster wheel and come back better and stronger than before or that of the introverted champion who found freedom on the grass.

Whoever wins, the happy final will have a happy outcome.