Last year, the then 17-year-old Anisimova barked when she defeated the title holder Halep in the quarterfinals.
This year, Anisimova, who has Russian parents who immigrated to the United States a couple of years before her daughter was born, had no chance but the match at Philippe-Chatrier was over in just 54 minutes.
Halep, who abstained from the US Open due to the pandemic, waited out Anisimova's mistake and was ruthless.
The 29-year-old dedicated the victory to his coach Darren Cahill, who turns 55 today.
- It was a gift to Cahill because it's his birthday today.
Happy birthday, Darren, Halep tells the organizer.
In the next round, Halep will meet another young upstart, the Polish Iga Swiatek. Last year, Halep only released one game when they met in the fourth round.