Anderson & Simon Set For Pune Final Rematch

Kevin Anderson has not let slip the momentum of his career-best 2018 ATP Tour season, beating No. 7 seed Jaume Munar 6-3, 6-3 on Thursday to reach the semi-finals of the Tata Open Maharashtra for the second year in a row.

“Firstly, I’m happy with the way I played today. I thought I did a really good job creating opportunities and taking them, so definitely felt good out there,” Anderson said. “I’m happy with the way I’m playing and I have to come out and focus on what I do best and if I do that I’m going to give myself the best chance of getting through.”

The South African began his 2018 campaign with a run to the championship match in Pune, losing to French veteran Gilles Simon in the title match. But Anderson, who qualified for the Nitto ATP Finals for the first time last year, hopes to take a step further in India this time around. He will get a chance to avenge that championship match defeat, as the World No. 6 will face Simon in the semi-finals.

Anderson, the top seed, was opportunistic in the quarter-finals against Munar, seizing all four of the break points he earned. With the help of 14 aces and only losing six first-service points, Anderson was only broken once. However, he was still impressed with Munar, who qualified for the 2018 Next Gen ATP Finals.

“Haven’t seen him play before, really. What struck me the most was his attitude. I thought he competed really well throughout the whole match, even when I started getting ahead, he was in it every game, so I think that’s a huge positive,” Anderson said. “I think he’s definitely an exciting player to watch and definitely keep your eyes out for him.”

While Munar is on the rise, Simon has been a mainstay on the ATP Tour for years, and the Frenchman beat his compatriot, fifth seed Benoit Paire, 3-6, 7-6(4), 6-4. Simon was in danger of seeing his title defence come to an end when Paire served for the match at 5-4 in the second set, but the third seed pulled through to reach the last four after two hours and 19 minutes. Anderson leads their FedEx ATP Head2Head series 3-1.

In the other semi-final, Ivo Karlovic will have a chance to make history. The Croat, who is 39 years old, became the oldest tour-level semi-finalist since Jimmy Connors at 1993 San Francisco by beating Ernests Gulbis 7-6(5), 7-6(5). Karlovic, who has not been broken all week in Pune, can become the oldest finalist on record since 42-year-old Ken Rosewall in 1977 when he faces Steve Darcis.

The Belgian, who missed the entire 2018 season, became the first unranked tour-level semi-finalist in ATP Tour history (since 1990) when he defeated fourth seed Malek Jaziri 7-5, 6-2 in 93 minutes. Karlovic won his only previous FedEx ATP Head2Head meeting against Darcis in straight sets 10 years ago at Wimbledon.