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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