Illini On Tour | Kevin Anderson Wimbledon Bio | Results
LONDON – In a thrilling five-set upset, Kevin Anderson fights back in his first quarterfinal's appearance to knock out No. 1 seed and reigning Wimbledon champion, Roger Federer of Switzerland, 2-6, 6-7(5), 7-5, 6-4, 13-11. The semifinals appearance marks the first for Anderson, who is the first South African to reach this point since Kevin Curren in 1983.
"Really an incredible performance when you look at playing arguably the best player of all-time," said Head Coach Brad Dancer. Going down two sets to love, it was matter of staying calm, being in the moment, and believing in himself. Everything is against Kevin and he did a phenomenal job staying composed. Once the match got in a dog fight, Kevin played better and better and it was inspiring to see."
Battling in the fourth round, Anderson broke through to his first victory over world-ranked No. 44 Gael Monfils from France, 7-6(4), 7-6(2), 5-7, 7-6(4). This marked the first time in Anderson's career that he advanced to the quarterfinals of Wimbledon. The former All-American is also the first South African since Wayne Ferreira (1994) to qualify to a Wimbledon quarterfinal.
The No. 8 seed also qualified to the fourth round with a win over No. 25 seed, Germany's Philipp Kohlschreiber 6-3, 7-5, 7-5. In his historic run, Anderson also opened up the first two rounds with comfortable wins over Slovakian qualifier, Norbert Gombos, and Italy's Andrea Seppi.
Match Notes
- After five meetings, Anderson scored his first victory against Federer.
- Anderson is the first South African since Kevin Curren to advance to a Wimbledon semifinal.
- Anderson has now reached two grand slam semifinals, with the first last year at the U.S. Open.
- The South African native is the first player to break Federer's serve since Czech player, Tomas Berdych, in last year's Wimbledon semi-finals.
- Anderson's powerful serves allowed him to hit 28 aces and win four break points in the matchup.
Social Reactions
On the Centre Court, Anderson will now take on No. 9 seed and former Georgia Bulldog, John Isner of the United States on Thursday, July 13 at 7 a.m. CT on ESPN.
The former NCAA champions both faced each other 11 years ago at the 2007 NCAA Championships held in Athens, Ga. On the pro circuit, Isner leads the matchup series, 8-3, with Anderson's last win at the 2012 Delray Beach Open semifinals.
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