Anderson ‘on right track’

Despite receiving another injury blow this week, Kevin Anderson (above) is confident he is on the right track, insisting he was aiming to return to the court in time to compete at Wimbledon.

Continuing his comeback from a lengthy injury hiatus, the big-serving South African was 3-0 down in the second set against Croatian seventh seed Marin Cilic when he quit in their fourthround match at the French Open on Monday. He later revealed he had picked up a hamstring niggle.

“It’s tough ... it really hurts just to retire,” Anderson said.

“I would like to just finish the match, but with the grass (tournaments) just around the around the corner, I have to look after my body.

“I’ve been through quite a bit, so hopefully right now I’ll be able to recover rapidly.”

He hoped to compete at the Aegon Championships, an ATP 500 Series tournament at Queen’s Club starting on June 19, a couple of weeks before Wimbledon.

Having reached the final at Queen’s Club two years ago, Anderson was eager to build on his fine run of recent form with another solid performance at the Wimbledon warm-up event.

Bouncing back from a rocky period which had seen him sidelined by multiple injuries and minor ankle surgery, Anderson reached the last-16 of a Grand Slam event for the first time since the 2015 season with his breakthrough effort at Roland Garros, before bowing out.

“It’s a little hiccup on the road right now,” said Anderson, as he prepared to shift from the heavier clay surface in Paris to the softer grass courts of London.