Kevin Anderson’s quarterfinal under the lights inside Arthur Ashe Stadium Tuesday night could have gone horribly wrong.
After overcoming a 6-1 deficit in the second-set tiebreak against No. 17 Sam Querrey, the South African had four fairly easy balls at net that he could have put away to earn a set point on his own serve at 7-6. But the 28th seed eventually flubbed a high forehand volley long, and eventually lost the breaker. A likely two-set advantage turned into a dead-even match against a dangerous opponent in front of the American's crowd.
“I don't want to play too many points like that,” Anderson said. “You know, it's almost tougher, would have been better off losing that tiebreak almost 7-1 than coming so close to actually being two sets to love up.”
In many cases, players would flounder in their attempts to recover from that disappointment. Powerful forehands might start sailing past the baseline, or backhands could tamely fizzle out into the net as the pressure to regain the lead escalates. But all Anderson did was stay positive at the beginning of the third set, continuing to pump his fist after every point he won, adding an intense "come on!" each time as if nothing happened.
“That’s what he does,” said Anderson’s college coach at the University of Illinois, Brad Dancer. “That’s what Kevin has always been known for: his toughness, his tenacity. So I think if you expected him to lie down or roll over, then people don’t know Kevin very well.”
The 31-year-old may not have the natural racquet abilities of Roger Federer or the raw athleticism of Gael Monfils. But if you want to know what makes the 6-foot-8 gentle giant stand out, it is not his serve, despite leading the tournament with 92 aces thus far. It is his implacable competitive fire and willingness to work hard every single day.
A series of muffed volleys and an overhead wasn’t going to take the dog out of the fight in arguably the biggest match of Anderson’s life. It added fuel to that fight’s fire, and it is under the most intense heat that Anderson thrives.
“He loves a good fight,” said Dancer, who was in his former pupil’s player box courtside. “He’s always up for a fight, and it was great to see him get right back on the horse.”
It wasn’t the first time Anderson responded to adversity. The South African was excelling in 2015, climbing to a career-high No. 10 in October, before an ankle operation last spring and a serious dental operation after that kept him off the court and led to more health obstacles as he tried to come back. A hip injury forced Anderson to start his 2017 late, missing the Australian Open before losing four of his first six matches after coming back in February.
The first South African US Open semifinalist in the Open era could have gotten down about it and tumbled even further from No. 80 in the rankings, but Anderson knows well that not all success comes easily.
“You knew he’s capable of playing this type of tennis,” said Anderson’s Illinois teammate and touring coach Billy Heiser. “Not everyone’s Roger Federer, who comes back from injury and wins the first tournament they play.”
Instead, Anderson did what he always has done: “I have put in a lot of work,” Anderson said.
The same way he did in college, when he'd wake up for voluntary 6:30 a.m. practice sessions. The same way Heiser said he raised his teammates’ levels with unrelenting intensity during every rally in training. When given two roads, one paved straight to glory and another littered with a steep hill, he wasn’t deterred when he had to push himself over that hill to overcome the obstacles set before him.
“I certainly think the tougher the road, the more satisfying it is at the end,” Heiser said. “But I think we all hope that the tournament’s not over for him.”
When Anderson steps inside the biggest tennis stadium on the planet, Arthur Ashe Stadium, for just the second time in his career Friday, one thing is for certain – no missed opportunities like the net point against Querrey will stop him from pushing on. In fact, nothing will. Anderson lives for tennis, and he will give the sport and his semifinal against No. 12 Pablo Carreno Busta everything he’s got.
“It’s his whole life. It’s his number one priority with everything he does from the moment he wakes up in the morning until the moment he goes to bed at night and even everything in between,” said Anderson’s wife, Kelsey. “It’s all designed with tennis in mind first, and everything else second. So I think when he’s out there competing, there was never even a doubt that he was going to leave it all out there.”
