Two hours, and a three-game margin
Lolia Jeanjean was knocked out of the US Open on Thursday, beaten by Anastasia Potapova 6-4, 2-6, 6-3. The Frenchwoman hung in for more than two hours against the world No 25. She took the second set fairly comfortably before fading in the decider.
Jeanjean was in the tournament on a wild card handed out by the French federation. Ranked No 127 with 599 points, she had already come through one round. On paper the gap to Potapova was close to 100 places. On court it came down to three games.
Her exit leaves the women’s singles without a single French player. At this stage of the New York fortnight, that is a blunt verdict on French women’s tennis, which was leaning on wild cards to cover for a poor collective ranking.
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Potapova gets her season moving at the right time
For the Russian, the win lands at exactly the right moment. Potapova had shown little of substance since the spring on clay, where she reached the semi-finals in Madrid and the last 16 in Rome and at Roland Garros. Her summer on hard courts had been much quieter.
She is now into the third round of the US Open for the second time in her career, after 2024. That is about as steady as it gets, at 25, in a tournament where she has never gone further.
Anisimova up next, and a habit of one-off wins
The next hurdle could be far tougher. Potapova faces Amanda Anisimova on Saturday if the American gets past her young compatriot Lilli Tagger. Anisimova, last year’s runner-up, is playing in front of her home crowd and arrives in New York with serious pedigree.
The calibre of that opponent will show whether Thursday was a spark or just a handy break. Potapova has a habit of producing isolated good wins before slipping up quickly afterwards. Her ranking, still hovering just outside the top 20 despite several full seasons, says plenty.
Jeanjean leaves New York with one win and a narrow third-set defeat. Not bad for a player whose big-stage chances come by invitation.
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