Klaasen keen on Finals glory

RAVEN Klaasen is hell bent on finally clinching the 2018 ATP Finals doubles title after coming painstakingly close two years ago.

The South African doubles specialist is a lot more battle hardened than in 2016 when he and American Rajeev Ram lost to Finland’s Henri Kontinen and Australia’s John Peers in the final.

Klaasen said he had earned his stripes since then and will not be overawed when he takes to the court with New Zealand partner Michael Venus in London on Sunday.

“The one thing that has definitely changed is my feeling of comfort around the tournament,” Klaasen said from London yesterday.

“The first time you did it, you walk in here wide-eyed and a little bit in awe of the situation, whereas this year we go in with a clear picture of what we want to achieve.

“I came within a couple of points of lifting the trophy here a few years ago and the goal now is how to take it that one step further.”

Klaasen has had another stellar year on the world’s doubles circuit in his first season partnering Venus.

The pair won the title in Marseille and were runners-up at four other tournaments. They featured in the Wimbledon doubles final but lost to Americans Mike Bryan and Jock Sock in a nail-biting clash.

The 36-year-old Klaasen’s successes over the last few years have given him a new lease on his career.

He said yesterday he had no plan of calling an end to his career in the near future with his body keeping up with the rigours of top-class tennis.

“If you asked me a couple of years ago, I would probably have said 36 would have been the end of it for me,” Klaasen said.

“But what I have realised is that my body is reacting better to tennis than I thought it would at this age.

“Currently I am not putting an end date on my career and I think watching a guy like Roger Federer in singles still doing it at the highest level motivates the rest of the field.”

Klaasen and Venus open their Finals campaign on Sunday against Jamie Murray and Bruno Soares.

Klaasen also said yesterday he would be the ambassador of the Digicall Futures to be played in Stellenbosch from November 17 to December 9.