It's a harsh reality on the ATP tour that the ridiculous amounts of pain and suffering these men endure off the court in training will only allow players to hold equal footing on the court. Once between the lines, factors such as belief, instinct, courage, composure, talent, and execution will decide where the check registers within the win/loss column. The best in the business always seem to have these ingredients on hand, but it takes time to learn how to mix them, properly. For most, a long time. During these unenlightened periods, there are sure to be some sleepless nights for athletes wondering whether or not all the blood, sweat, and tears make much of a difference.
Kevin Anderson has probably tossed and turned more than a few times this Summer. Not because he hadn't forged a rewarding career on the ATP Tour - he's #14 in the world, is a 3-time winner, and has earned about 6 million bucks - but, because he had hit a wall in the way of progress. Progress at the biggest events against the best players. That had to gnaw at Anderson, because his fanatical devotion to the sport has long been without question, and he's proven time and time, again, that he belongs among tennis' elite. But at 29-years-old, had all the hard work and dedication pushed him to a final plateau? Going into yesterday's U.S. Open 4th-round match against world #3 Andy Murray, the answer seemed cut and dried: over a 3-year period, the lanky South African had reached the round of 16 at the 3 other majors a total of 7 times, but had not a single quarterfinal berth to his name. Anderson's latest failed attempt came this July at Wimbledon, and had to be the most painful of the bunch, as he let a 2-sets-to-love lead drift away in a loss to eventual champ, Novak Djokovic. A clear sign that it was time to accept his fate and place in the tennis hierarchy, right?
Wrong. Kevin Anderson is a 2015 U.S. Open quarter-finalist after upsetting Murray in the longest - and highest quality - match yet to be played on the men's side, 7-6(5), 6-3, 6-7(2), 7-6(0). Who knows what kind of doubts may have crept into Anderson's mind as the 4th-set tiebreaker began? The heavy underdog had won the first two sets with outrageous tennis, yet here Murray was, a handful of points away from dragging Anderson into a torturous 5th set. Shades of Djokovic at Wimbledon all over, again. Throughout his comeback, Murray had whipped the Armstrong Stadium crowd into an absolute frenzy with some incredible hustle and shotmaking, but he also employed a few extra histrionics in an effort to both win the crowd over, and to make Anderson feel the moment to it's fullest. Maybe the gamesmanship ticked Anderson off a bit, or perhaps the 6'8" quiet giant just finally mixed the ingredients to perfection, but he proceeded to play the finest tennis of his career in giving Murray a righteous, 7-0 spanking in the breaker. The Scot had his slam quarterfinals streak snapped at 18, while Anderson celebrated Labor Day by drinking in some extremely hard-earned progress.
On Tuesday morning, it was back to work.
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