After being hampered by injury setbacks over the past two years, Kevin Anderson has reached his first ATP Final since 2015.
The 15th seed, who has dealt with ankle, knee and hamstring issues over the past 18 months, progressed to the final with a 6-3, 6-4, win over home favourite Jack Sock. Anderson secured the win with 12 aces and saved all five break points he faced in the match.
“It feels great. It’s great to get another match win today. It was definitely a tough match. I felt I did quite a few things well today, couple things I thought I could have done a little bit better. But most importantly I was able to get the win and give myself a shot at the title tomorrow (Sunday),” Anderson said. “It’s a great start to the summer. It’s obviously a very big tournament so I’m very pleased to be through to the finals.”
Anderson’s injury problem started at the worst time possible. At the end of 2015 he reached the quarter-finals of the US Open to help secure his debut in the world’s top-10. Due to his breaks from the action, the South African dropped top as low at 80th at the start of the year. Despite the heartbreak, he now finds himself a win away from his fourth ATP title at the age of 31.
“It would mean a lot,” Anderson said about winning the title. “I’m really excited to be there. I think I can take a lot from this week. It’s a great start to the summer. It will be a terrific opportunity.”
In the final Anderson will play the formidable Alexander Zverev, the youngest player in the world’s top-20. The world No.8 made his clash with Kei Nishikori look somewhat ordinary as he brushes the Japanese player aside 6-3, 6-4.
“I played a great match. I played well from the baseline. I returned pretty well… I was holding serve quite comfortably, so I’m happy with how I played,” Zverev said after his 64-minute win.
Zverev achieved the win with the help of 19 winners and 13 unforced errors. A sharp contrast to Nishikori’s tally of eight and 16. The German will now contest his fifth final of the year and be bidding to win his fourth title since February. Zverev will be the favourite going into the match, but he is weary of the threat he faces.
“He’s playing unbelievable tennis. He won against Dominic in a great match. He beat Jack today,” he said. “It’s going to be a tough final. If I can play as well as I did today, hopefully I can get out with a win.”
Overall, Zverev leads his head-to-head with Anderson at 2-0. Both of his triumphs have gone to three sets.
Sock hints at no return
As two players prepare for the final, another has slammed the Washington tournament. World No.19 Sock was far from amused by the state of the courts following his loss to Anderson.
“Pretty shocking tennis court,” Sock said. “I don’t think I’ll be back at this tournament probably in the future. It’s probably the worst court of the year. Speed, bounces, everything. It’s pretty shocking.”
Due to the humid conditions and surface, the court heavily favours the big serving players. Furthermore, other players have spoken about the ball bouncing erratically.
Despite the criticism, others are questioning the accuracy of Sock’s claim. New York Times journalist Ben Rothenberg has covered the tournament over the past decade. Writing on Social media, he noted that no other player have previously expressed such a strong opinion about the conditions.
I've been covering this tournament for 10 years now (gosh I'm old, huh), and have never heard anybody complain about court quality before.
— Ben Rothenberg (@BenRothenberg) 5 August 2017
