Amanda Anisimova survived ​an almighty scare against compatriot Sofia Kenin on Thursday (July 2, 2026) 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 geniune 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 Brooksby all going through on Wednesday.

Giron, Svajda and Zheng face big tests in the next round ⁠when they play French Open champion Alexander Zverev, fifth seed Alex de Minaur and third seed Felix Auger-Aliassime but Brooksby has the unenviable task of trying to topple Jannik Sinner.

Zverev continued his bid for a second straight Grand ‌Slam trophy by beating unseeded Frenchman Valentin Royer 6-1 6-3 7-6(3) while De Minuar dispatched another Frenchman in Adrian Mannarino with a 6-3 6-2 6-2 win.

Victories for Ashlyn Krueger and Emma Navarro meant eight American women advanced to the third round along with Iva Jovic, Jessica Pegula, Coco Gauff and Claire Liu.

Rybakina through minimum fuss

It was the end of the road for Caty McNally, however, as she ran into a roadblock in the form of 2022 champion Elena Rybakina and went down 6-1 6-2.

Keys progressed with a 6-1 6-4 win over ‌local hope Katie Swan, who could not take advantage of the high-profile support in the Court One stands where Kate, Britain’s Princess ​of Wales, and tennis royal Andy Murray were sat.

Arthur Fery was also watched by Kate in his early games against Finnish qualifier Otto Virtanen on Court 18, and the 23-year-old ⁠wildcard went on to win 5-7 7-6(3) 6-3 6-3 on a sun-soaked morning at the All England Club.

She was ⁠gone by the time another British wildcard Jacob Fearnley fought for nearly three hours but succumbed eventually to Spaniard Jaume Munar 6-4 7-6(3) 6-4.

Even as media speculation swirled about Serena Williams’ participation in ‌the women’s doubles event alongside her sister Venus after a knee injury, her singles conqueror Maya Joint fell 3-6 6-2 6-0 to Alexandra Eala of the Philippines.

Eala will now prepare for defending champion Iga Swiatek, ​who cleared a potentially dangerous hurdle with ease as she beat former world number one Karolina Pliskova 6-1 6-3.

Indian-origin tennis player Nishesh Basavareddy caused the first major upset of the French Open as he stunned seventh-seeded American Taylor Fritz in the opening round in Paris.

Wild card entrant Basavareddy, an American citizen now, beat world number nine Fritz 7-6(5), 7-6(5), 6-7(9), 6-1 in a gruelling match that lasted two hours and 45 minutes on Sunday to reach the second round.

The 21-year-old, whose parents moved to the USA from Nellore in Andhra Pradesh in 1999, became the first American man to beat a top-10 opponent at Roland Garros since Jan-Michael Gambill eliminated then-World No. 8 Nicolas Kiefer in 2000.

He was aggressive early, using plenty of drop shots and his backhand down the line. He also withstood 71 winners from Fritz, hitting 51 of his own to claim the first Top-10 victory of his career.

Basavareddy had played just five tour-level matches this season when he walked on court against Fritz.

He will face another young American Alex Michelsen in the second round.