Weekend feast with World Cup final, SA’s aces at Wimbledon

ARE you ready for a delicious double scoop of glory at Wimbledon? Because that is the treat that could be in store for South Africans in what is shaping up to be an absolute cracker of a sporting weekend.

On Thursday, Kevin Anderson shocked the tennis world by coming back from a seemingly hopeless position to beat Roger Federer to reach the semi-finals.

And yesterday another South African, Raven Klaasen, stormed into the Wimbledon doubles final with his partner, Michael Venus of New Zealand.

Anderson made the final of the US Open last year, but he will be hoping to thrill all South Africans by lifting his first major title at Wimbledon.

“I have already gotten tons of messages of support back home. It’s not easy coming from South Africa, it’s very far from the tennis scene,” said Anderson.

He meets big-serving American John Isner in a semi-final clash today.

And if Anderson can get past Isner, he will be going eyeball to eyeball with another titan of tennis – either Rafa Nadal or Novak Djokovic, who meet in the other semi.

As for doubles specialist Klaasen, this will be his second shot at a major title. He reached the final of the Australian Open in 2014.

Anderson and Klaasen may not be the only fairy-tale stories of the weekend. When the World Cup started in Russia, very few people would have given Croatia a realistic chance of making the final.

Yet the brave fighters of Croatia are ready to square off with traditional superpower France in Sunday’s showpiece.

France will be heavy favourites to triumph at one of the greatest occasions of all in sport – a Soccer World Cup final.

But what a story it would be if Croatia scalp yet another big name?

“What about us?” Proteas captain Faf du Plessis might be saying. His team are currently doing battle with Sri Lanka, where Dale Steyn is pushing hard to break Shaun Pollock’s record for the most Test wickets taken.

LONDON: South African Kevin Anderson had a message for all South Africans after his epic five-set victory over Roger Federer in the quarter-finals of Wimbledon on Wednesday.

“Just stick to your dreams and keep believing in yourself,” Anderson told the world’s press when asked about the impact of his feat in his native South Africa.

Anderson had caused the biggest shock of the fortnight by defeating the No 1 seed and defending champion Federer 2-6, 6-7, 7-5, 6-4, 13-11.

Anderson also confirmed at the press conference that his application for dual citizenship with the United States was still being processed.

“Obviously at this sort of event, playing against an opponent like Roger is going to have a lot of coverage.

“It’s not easy coming from South Africa, it’s very far from the tennis scene.”

Anderson said he had thought about his losing overall record to Federer and admitted he was unsettled starting the match.

“I thought I settled down much better in the second set,” he said.

“Even though I lost it in a tiebreak, I felt I played a much, much better set of tennis.

“Obviously in the third set, I just tried to compete as hard as I could. I was able to, you know, hold serve throughout. He had that one match point, but I played a good point and was able to get that break.

“I felt like once I did that, I really settled down well and felt pretty comfortable out there.”

Questioned about the setting, the head-tohead, Anderson was asked whether this was his single biggest victory in his career.

“Yeah, I haven’t thought about it too much in the broader context of things. It felt great to get that match. I mean, I think the toughest thing players face when going out playing somebody like Roger in this kind of setting is giving yourself a chance.

“I feel like the times that I’ve played him before, or other guys sort of with his ranking and history, I haven’t really allowed myself to play.

“The first set was an example of that. I was really proud of myself the way I was able to relax, play my game.

“That’s a big goal that I’ve had. Even if I’d lost that match in three sets or four sets, I still actually made some progress on that front. That was a good plus.” – ANA