Anderson stares his bogeyman in the face

Kevin Anderson will become the first South African to play in the semi-finals of the men’s year-ending tennis finale on Saturday.

Anderson’s impressive straight-sets wins over Dominic Thiem and Kei Nishikori in his opening two round robin matches meant he could afford to lose to Roger Federer in his final round-robin game.

The Swiss’ 6-4 6-3 win means Anderson finishes second in his group and will play the in-form world No 1 Novak Djokovic.

Djokovic was already assured of his place in the semis when he took to the court against his good friend Marin Cilic on Friday night.

Anderson was relaxed about his defeat, knowing the main aim of qualification for the knockout stage was accomplished.

“I feel like some of the things he did I didn’t really adjust to very well,” he said.

“I thought he used the change of pace very well. I felt pretty good out on the court, but I didn’t execute or play at a high enough level to win.”

Yet Anderson will be acutely aware of how switched on he’ll need to be against his Serbian opponent.

The South African felt the toll of a thrilling run to this year’s Wimbledon final, but was hammered in straight sets by Djokovic.

Asked whether that memory would influence his preparations, the Anderson said: “Maybe a little bit, but I’ll probably look more closely to our indoor matches, as I’ve played him twice since Wimbledon at the Laver Cup and Shanghai.

“He’s playing amazing tennis, he’s established himself back at the top of the game, but that makes it a great opportunity for me. Obviously this match [against Federer] was tough, but in my previous two I played really good tennis, coming off a few weeks when I’ve been playing better and better. It’s nice that I have a day to let things resettle, before I pick things up again for the semi-finals.”

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