Moments after celebrating one of the biggest achievements of his career, Kevin Anderson was eager to not get too distracted by his run to the US Open semifinals.
Facing home favourite Sam Querrey in a late-night dual on the Arthur Ashe stadium, the South African prevailed 7-6(5), 6-7(9), 6-3, 7-6(7). During the three-and-a-half hour encounter, he dropped his serve only once as he produced 22 aces and 67 winners. It was far from a dominant performance from Anderson, who was matched by Querrey throughout the majority of the quarter-final clash.
“It was a great match. I have put in a lot of work. It definitely feels good that I have reached some milestone that I haven’t before.” Said Anderson.
“I felt I did a fantastic job resetting. These matches, it just comes to a point here and there. Fortunately, I was able to win a couple more points than him tonight.” He added.
The triumph is a dream come true for the injury-stricken Anderson, who dropped to as low as 80th in the world at the start of the season. During 2016 he had to contend with hip and knee issues. On top of that, he also underwent minor surgery on his ankle. The issues extended into 2017 when he withdrew from the Australian Open due to his hip.
Now back to full fitness, the 31-year-old is relishing his historic run in New York. Anderson is the first South African to reach the semifinals of the tournament since Cliff Drysdale in 1965. He is the first from his country to reach a major semi-final since Wayne Ferreira at the 2003 Australian Open. Refusing to be contempt with those records, the 28th seed is eager to reach further heights in the tournament.
“I want to say it’s a fantastic feeling, but at the same time I feel like I want to keep (in the moment). I’m still in this tournament. I feel like I’m going to have another opportunity to go one step further.” Explained the 31-year-old.
Fixated on trying to reach the final, standing in his way will be world No.19 Pablo Carreno Busta. Anderson leads their head-to-head 2-0, but his Spanish rival is yet to drop a set in the entire tournament. Within the past 13 months Carreno Busta has claimed a duo of titles on a hard-court and reached the quarter-finals of the French Open.
“He’s had an amazing year, really consistent results now. At the French, getting through to the quarters and now through to the semis here.” Anderson said about the Spaniard.
“He’s definitely obviously very confident, so it will be an interesting match and very excited to go out there and playing and competing in the semifinals.”
Aiming to inspire a new generation
At 32nd in the world, Anderson is the only player from his country currently ranked inside the top 200. It is a far from perfect outcome for South African tennis, but the Johannesburg-born player hopes to change this in the future when he outlined his ‘biggest hope.’
“My biggest hope is that I’m able to inspire kids to play the sport. It’s very tough coming from South Africa, far from the scene. I take a lot of — it makes me feel good that I can hopefully fly a flag and show kids that if you work hard you can get there.”
Inspiring a new generation is by no means a simple task, but the 6”8’ player has pledged to give it his all. In order to do, he needs to continue developing his own game. A concept that Anderson is more than aware of.
“I’m always working hard, looking at ways to improve my game. I feel at times it’s maybe been I have looked a little bit too hard and I feel like I need to trust my abilities. I feel like I’m doing that better. That’s also a skill you have to learn.” He concluded.
