On a quiet outside clay court at the Hungarian national tennis centre in Budapest nine years ago a pair of outstanding 15-year-olds tussled in front of a few dozen spectators. Although the duel offered glimpses into the potential from both sides of the net, Iga Swiatek defeated Amanda Anisimova 6-4, 6-2 en route to Poland’s triumph over the US in the Junior Fed Cup. Even though Anisimova endured a difficult afternoon, memories of those days immediately drew a smile to her face. “I used to enjoy those Fed Cup trips a lot,” she says. “We had a lot of fun.
“She was playing very well. She was a great junior – I remember a lot of coaches were saying that she’s going to be a big deal one day. They were right.”
