Linda Noskova vs. Amanda Anisimova — Cincinnati 2026 R16 Match Report
Amanda Anisimova did not leave much room for the close contest Cincinnati had been promised.
The American dismantled Linda Noskova’s resistance with one of her cleanest displays of the tournament, winning 6-1, 6-4 in just one hour and 11 minutes to reach the Cincinnati Open quarterfinals.
What had looked like one of the sharper round-of-16 matchups on paper became a showcase of Anisimova’s first-strike tennis. She struck 32 winners against only nine unforced errors, did not face a break point and won a remarkable 84 per cent of her service points.
The result also extends Anisimova’s head-to-head advantage over Noskova to 3-1. She had won their previous two meetings, including the 2025 Beijing final, after Noskova took their first encounter at Indian Wells in 2023.
RallyHer’s preview had wondered whether Anisimova could sustain her level over two complete sets. On Wednesday night, she supplied a rather emphatic answer.
Anisimova Tears Through the Opening Set
Noskova held her first service game for 1-1.
That was almost the end of the good news.
Anisimova had opened with a comfortable hold and immediately began finding the depth and timing that make her so difficult to contain when the ball is sitting in her strike zone.
After holding for 2-1, she attacked Noskova’s serve and converted the first break of the match for 3-1.
There was no pause after the breakthrough.
Anisimova consolidated for 4-1 and broke again for 5-1, pushing Noskova increasingly behind the baseline while giving the Czech almost nothing to work with on return.
Serving for the set, the American closed it without drama.
Six games to one. Twenty-two minutes.
Noskova had entered Cincinnati without dropping a set, beating Katie Boulter 6-3, 6-3 and Clara Tauson 7-6(3), 6-2. Anisimova had taken a more complicated route, recovering from a set down against Alexandra Eala in the previous round.
None of that mattered once Anisimova found her range.
Set 1 at a Glance
- Anisimova won 100% of her service points (16/16), while Noskova managed just 39% (7/18).
- Anisimova won every pressure point (3/3) while Noskova won none (0/3).
- Anisimova won 79% of total points (27/34), hitting 14 winners to Noskova’s 1.
Full Set 1 Stats
| Noskova | Statistic | Anisimova |
|---|---|---|
| Set 1 Duration: 0h22m | ||
| 1.00 | Dominance Ratio | 1.00 |
| 1 | Winners | 14 |
| 7 | Unforced Errors | 2 |
| 158 | Serve Rating | 359 |
| 1 | Aces | 3 |
| 4 | Double Faults | 0 |
| 56% (10/18) | 1st Serve % | 56% (9/16) |
| 50% (5/10) | 1st Serve Points Won | 100% (9/9) |
| 25% (2/8) | 2nd Serve Points Won | 100% (7/7) |
| 0% (0/2) | Break Points Saved | – (0/0) |
| 0 | Return Rating | 292 |
| 0% (0/9) | 1st Return Points Won | 50% (5/10) |
| 0% (0/7) | 2nd Return Points Won | 75% (6/8) |
| – (0/0) | Break Points Won | 2/2 |
| 7 | Total Points Won | 30 |
Noskova Makes It Closer, but Anisimova Never Loses Control
The second set finally produced the match many had expected.
Noskova began with a hold and, unlike in the opener, stayed with Anisimova through the early games.
The first six games all went with serve.
Noskova led 1-0, 2-1 and 3-2, but every time Anisimova answered. There were no signs of the loose service games that might have offered Noskova a route back into the contest.
At 3-3, the breakthrough arrived.
Anisimova increased the pressure on Noskova’s serve and broke for 4-3. After the speed of the opening set, one break now looked potentially decisive.
It was.
Anisimova held for 5-3 and forced Noskova to serve to stay in the match. The Czech did so, reducing the deficit to 5-4, but still needed something she had not managed all evening: a genuine opening on the Anisimova serve.
It never came.
The American served out the match 6-4, completing the second set in 49 minutes and a performance in which her serve was never broken — or even seriously threatened.
Set 2 at a Glance
- Anisimova won 82% of her second serve points (9/11) compared with Noskova’s 38% (3/8).
- Anisimova hit 18 winners to Noskova’s 8, and won her service games at 100% (5/5).
- Anisimova won 56% of total points (35/63), despite Noskova winning more pressure points, 67% (4/6) to 33% (2/6).
Full Set 2 Stats
| Noskova | Statistic | Anisimova |
|---|---|---|
| Set 2 Duration: 0h49m | ||
| 0.63 | Dominance Ratio | 1.60 |
| 8 | Winners | 18 |
| 7 | Unforced Errors | 7 |
| 260 | Serve Rating | 328 |
| 4 | Aces | 4 |
| 1 | Double Faults | 0 |
| 77% (27/35) | 1st Serve % | 68% (19/28) |
| 67% (18/27) | 1st Serve Points Won | 74% (14/19) |
| 38% (3/8) | 2nd Serve Points Won | 82% (9/11) |
| 50% (1/2) | Break Points Saved | – (0/0) |
| 44 | Return Rating | 166 |
| 26% (5/19) | 1st Return Points Won | 33% (9/27) |
| 18% (2/11) | 2nd Return Points Won | 63% (5/8) |
| – (0/0) | Break Points Won | 1/2 |
| 28 | Total Points Won | 35 |
Anisimova’s Numbers Were Ruthless
The final statistics underline just how one-sided Anisimova’s performance became.
She finished with 32 winners and only nine unforced errors, while Noskova managed nine winners against 14 errors. That produced a commanding 2.96 dominance ratio, compared with Noskova’s 0.34.
Anisimova was particularly untouchable on serve. She won 82 per cent of first-serve points and an extraordinary 88 per cent behind her second serve, finishing with seven aces and no double faults. Noskova, by contrast, won only 31 per cent of her second-serve points.
Most strikingly, Noskova did not create a single break point. Anisimova won all nine of her service games and converted three of her four chances on return.
She also punished Noskova’s second serve, winning 69 per cent of those return points, and finished with a 62-35 advantage in total points.
The numbers reflected the match itself: once Anisimova established control, Noskova had almost no statistical route back into it.
A Matchup Anisimova Continues to Own
The result also adds another emphatic chapter to a rivalry that has increasingly moved towards Anisimova.
Noskova won their first meeting at Indian Wells in 2023, 7-6(6), 6-3. Anisimova then responded at Wimbledon in 2025 before beating her again in the Beijing final later that year. She entered Cincinnati leading their series 2-1.
That Beijing final had featured wild momentum swings — Anisimova won the first set 6-0, lost the second 2-6 and recovered to take the decider 6-2. RallyHer’s preview highlighted precisely how quickly this matchup could change when Anisimova began seeing the ball early.
Cincinnati brought none of that instability.
Noskova made the second set competitive, but Anisimova never lost control of her own serve and never allowed the match to develop into the sort of extended battle that might have favoured the Czech’s steadier recent form.
This time there was no momentum swing to survive.
Anisimova simply kept hitting.
Anisimova Finds Her Timing Just Before New York
The internet’s Meme Queen of the moment has now added something rather more useful to the collection: a major win just before the US Open.
Anisimova arrived in Cincinnati needing sharper evidence that her best tennis was returning. Against Noskova she provided it, striking 32 winners, losing only seven points on serve and extending her head-to-head lead over the Czech to 3-1.
Noskova’s Cincinnati run ends abruptly, but Anisimova moves into the quarterfinals with perhaps her most convincing performance in the last few months.
Next comes another substantial American test.
Jessica Pegula survived Sorana Cirstea 6-2, 4-6, 7-5 to claim the other quarterfinal place in their section.
With New York approaching, the timing could hardly be better for Anisimova.