Anderson Looks To Return To Top 10 Form In Atlanta

Before this season started, Kevin Anderson had set himself up for his best year yet on the ATP World Tour. In October, The 10-year veteran had reached a career high No. 10 in the Emirates ATP Rankings. The achievement came weeks after he had notched two of his three Top 10 wins of 2015 (d. Murray, d. Nishikori).

At 29 years old, the Johannesburg native was proving he belonged among the best on the ATP World Tour. But then there was the left knee injury. And then the right shoulder bothered him. He also underwent ankle surgery.

All in all, Anderson missed 10 weeks, retired from two matches and withdrew from seven tournaments.

But last week in Toronto, the Florida resident started regaining the level that helped him reach the Top 10. This week, he returns to the Atlanta for the sixth time with aspirations to maintain that strong form and achieve a career best result at the BB&T Atlanta Open.

“I feel like the last few weeks I’ve taken some good steps forward,” he said. “It’s just about staying patient. My body is healthy. I’m hitting the ball well. You’ve just got to trust the process.”

The timing of Anderson’s injuries especially frustrated the 6’8” right-hander. After a typical off-season of training in November and December, he usually feels eager to get back to competition on the court. But instead of focusing on returning to matches, Anderson was worried about just feeling healthy.

“It was always trying to get ready for the next week,” he said.

He took a few days off leading into the early events in Auckland and Melbourne to get his body ready, but the time away also affected his mindset. “You lose all your momentum, you don’t have that same confidence,” he said.

After playing two matches in Auckland, Anderson retired from his next two at the Australian Open and at Delray Beach. He sat out 10 weeks to try to feel better. But when he attempted to play at the Mutua Madrid Open, it was like the start of the season all over again.

“I got over there, I wasn’t healthy. I was taking time off. I was having a lot of stuff done just to try and play,” he said. “It just interrupted my rhythm a lot.”

The lack of match time also messed with Anderson’s mental game. He saw peers winning matches and climbing in the Emirates ATP Rankings as he was still on the sidelines.

“You’ve been out. Your ranking has slipped down. You haven’t been able to perform. You start asking questions about yourself,” he said.

On paper, Anderson started his season in Auckland. But, health-wise, the three-time ATP World Tour titlist feels like he started his season in June when the grass-court season began. At the Aegon Championships, Anderson said, he finally felt healthy. The last time he felt that way, he said, was in November 2015.

He won two qualifying matches in London, including a straight-sets victory against Jiri Vesely, who later would reach the Wimbledon fourth round. In Nottingham, Anderson won two consecutive main-draw matches for the first time all season (d. Dodig, d. Verdasco).

Last week in Toronto, he put together his best stretch yet. Anderson prevailed against World No. 35 Viktor Troicki and moved past Dominic Thiem because of a retirement. In the third round of the ATP World Tour Masters 1000 tournament, Anderson beat World No. 22 Bernard Tomic, whom the South African had lost to at the Aegon Championships.

“It was definitely a good week,” he said. “I think there were some things I was doing much better on the match court. I feel like on the practice court I’ve been hitting the ball well. I haven’t been really able to find that form on the match court yet but I turned it around a little bit last week.”

Atlanta could be the place for him to further regain his Top 10 form. He’s played at the event five times and has reached the semi-finals and the final.

“I’m looking to do the sort of things I was doing the in my first few matches [in Toronto],” he said. “I feel like if I’m going to do that I’m going to give myself a very good shot of going far this week.”