ATP Cup: Kevin Anderson's comeback gives hope
In his first match since Wimbledon, Kevin Anderson suffered a defeat. The South African's appearance against Novak Djokovic was nevertheless impressive.
by tennisnet.com
last edit: Jan 05, 2020, 04:01 pm
Yes, in the end there was another loss to Novak Djokovic, as so often for Kevin Anderson. There have now been twelve matches after the encounter with Djokovic in Brisbane as part of the ATP Cup, only two were able to be won by the South African - one of them at the Laver Cup in Chicago 2018, an event whose results have only recently become official ATP - Results have been collected.
6: 7 (5), 6: 7 (6), so the result with which Anderson left the court after the Djokovic match. However, two things should have given the 33-year-old a lot of confidence for the upcoming tasks. First of all, the course of the game: In the opening set, Anderson was already behind with a break, struggled to get back, forced the tie-break against the world ranking second. That Djokovic then prevailed in the reissue of the Wimbledon final of 2018 was partly due to the class of the world ranking second. But also the support of the numerous Serbian fans.
Anderson still against Monfils and Garin
In addition, however, Anderson, who is only ranked 91st in the world rankings, can feel confirmed: The long break that the South African had taken after a season that had been injured by injuries after the defeat against Guido Pella at Wimbledon seemed just that tried and tested means to get back in shape for the upcoming big tasks.
The ATP Cup: Gael Monfils and Cristian Garin, the top players from France and Chile. Especially against Garin, even a Kevin Anderson without playing practice on hard court should be considered a favorite, against Monfils a lot depends on the mood of the Frenchman. The first really big test will follow in Melbourne from January 20th. And there it probably applies: Nobody wants to compete early against a healthy Kevin Anderson. Probably not defending champion Novak Djokovic.