Anderson keeps South African Wimbledon hopes alive

LONDON: South African eighth seed Kevin Anderson reached the Wimbledon last 16 for the fourth time with a straight-sets win over experienced German Philipp Kohlschreiber yesterday.

The way he played in his 6-3 7-5 7-5 victory suggested Anderson could go further than ever before at the All England Club.

Anderson, 32, pressured Kohlschreiber from the start and was gifted an early and decisive break as the German double-faulted and he netted a forehand in the second game.

The South African also broke at the start of the second set but Kohlschreiber hit back immediately.

Anderson bided his time and broke at 5-5 with a forehand winner and held for a two-set lead.

He got a huge slice of luck at 5-5 in the third set when his backhand return flopped off the net tape and over to earn him the break and he served out to love, clenching his first and roaring his delight as Kohlschreiber’s return flew long.

Anderson will face Frenchman Gael Monfils for a place in the last eight.

Unseeded Monfils tamed the power of American Sam Querrey to reach the Wimbledon fourth round for the first time having previously fallen six times in the third round.

It looked like being a familiar story for the 31-yearold when 11th seed Querrey bombed down nine aces to win the opening set but crowdpleaser Monfils responded with some dazzling tennis to win 5-7 6-4 6-4 6-2 on Centre Court.

Monfils levelled the match with an ace of his own after breaking for a 5-3 lead in the second set.

A forehand pass gave him the breakthrough midway through the third set and Querrey’s resistance faded in the heat as Monfils raced through the fourth set in 23 minutes.

Fourth seed Alexander Zverev reached the third round at Wimbledon for the third year in succession when he came from 2-1 down to complete a 6-4 5-7 6-7 6-1 6-2 victory over Taylor Fritz in their suspended match yesterday.

The second-round clash on Court One, which lasted three hours 12 minutes, was suspended on Thursday evening in fading light with the 20-yearold American Fritz leading 2-1 after taking a 56-minute third set. – Reuters