WATCH: Kevin Anderson ‘thanks’ puppy for New York win
Weirdness all round as South Africa's leading tennis player also receives an abstract piece of art for his title win.
Kevin Anderson. Photo: Alex Smith/New York Open.
Kevin Anderson kick-started a slow 2018 to date by claiming the ATP New York Open early on Monday morning (SA time).
Following a blow-out in last month’s Australian Open, that raised fears South Africa’s No 1 tennis player wouldn’t build on his excellent runners-up finish at the US Open last year, this win comes as a relief.
However, the aftermath of his win was dominated by two weird occurrences: the abstract painting he received as trophy as well as dedicating his victory to his new puppy.
It's been a good week for @KAndersonATP. And he's thanked everyone, including his puppy 🐶#NYOpen pic.twitter.com/fCvwlWxoJA
— Tennis TV (@TennisTV) February 18, 2018
The canine was with his wife, Kelsey, in the crowd.
Happy to celebrate my @NewYorkOpen win with my team, family and friends. Thanks to all the fans for your support and nice messages. 🙏 pic.twitter.com/N4xTWnMiD4
— Kevin Anderson (@KAndersonATP) February 19, 2018
More importantly though, his 4-6, 6-3, 7-6(1) win over American Sam Querrey is expected to lift him back into the top 10 of the world rankings.
“Obviously, you go out there – the quicker and easier you can win, the better,” Anderson said about a few long matches in the run-up.
“But, I think I can take a lot of confidence in the way I was able to come through those close matches. I was tested, every single match went to three sets, three of the four matches went to 7-6 in the third and I played some of my best tennis when it mattered.”
I ❤️ NY! Thanks for a great week @NewYorkOpen and the cool painting trophy. Thanks everyone for your support! 💪
📸: #NYOpen/Alex Smith pic.twitter.com/Q3J4NNClHP— Kevin Anderson (@KAndersonATP) February 19, 2018
Anderson also felt a palpable sense of relief given a dodgy recent track record in finals
“I have been runner-up quite a few times in my career. One of the big goals I had for this year was to try to be a bit more successful in that final stage,” said Anderson.
“It feels great to come through and get today’s win. It gives me a lot of confidence for the year.
“Definitely feels very good to clear that last hurdle and walk away with the title. I’ve had a lot of very close matches this week.”
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