London dream now a reality

Wesley Bo on

Rewarded for a breakthrough season at the highest level, Kevin Anderson (below) said yesterday he had achieved one of his main goals of the year by booking his place in the ATP Finals for the first time.

The big-serving South African lifted his second title of the campaign at the weekend, securing victory at the Vienna Open, an ATP 500 Series event in Austria.

In the process, he climbed to sixth place in the world rankings and became the first SA player in 23 years to cement his spot among the top eight for the season-ending tour finals, to be held in London next month.

“It’s been a huge goal of mine all year to make London,” Anderson said.

“I’ve said that right from the beginning, so to finally put my name there, it feels fantastic.”

The 32-year-old reached a Grand Slam final for the second time in his career when he beat Swiss legend Roger Federer in the quarterfinals and defeated American giant John Isner in a gruelling five-set semifinal battle at Wimbledon in July.

Though he went on to lose the trophy decider to 14-time Grand Slam champion Novak Djokovic, Anderson climbed to a career-high No 5 in the rankings.

During a successful 2018 season, he also reached the fourth round at the French Open and the US Open.

Doubles specialist Raven Klaasen, meanwhile, had also booked his place in the tour finals with regular partner Michael Venus of New Zealand.

In their maiden campaign, the duo reached the final at Wimbledon and lifted the Open 13 title after winning the 250 Series tournament in France in February.

Klaasen, the world No 18, was set to contest the ATP Finals for the second time in his career, after finishing as runner-up at the prestigious tournament with former American partner Rajeev Ram in 2016.