South African Kevin Anderson took another step towards a return to the US Open final, as he downed 46th-ranked Frenchman Jeremy Chardy, 6-2, 6-4, 6-4 on a blazing Court 17 at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in New York on Wednesday.
Things were done and dusted in 1hr 55min as Anderson improved his playing record to a 35-13 win-loss ratio for the year and went through to the third round. He now joins fellow South African Raven Klaasen in progressing after Klaasen and Kiwi partner Michael Venus had earlier won their first round doubles match.
‘It was pretty hot out here today. The ball was flying around a bit,’ said Anderson. ‘The last game was obviously a little tricky, but overall, I played a great match. It’s always tough playing Jeremy, as he’s a great friend of mine.’
Anderson lost just six points on his serve in the 30-minute first set, converting breaks in the third and seventh games. The fifth seed jumped ahead in the second, too, breaking his opponent to open the set.
Chardy, who rose to a career-high No 25 in 2013 after reaching the Australian Open quarter-finals, couldn’t work his way back into the match in the third. Serving at two-all, 30-40, he could only watch as Anderson’s backhand approach sailed past him for the break.
Anderson would need six match points to close it out, but fittingly ended it with a concussive ace, one of 17 for the afternoon.
It was on the same court three nights ago that Anderson needed well over four hours to beat American Ryan Harrison in his opening round. The shorter second-round victory was welcomed by Anderson’s team as it will allow him a faster recovery for his third round match scheduled for Friday.
Anderson will now play rising Canadian star Denis Shapovalov, not having played the teen to date.
The South African has adopted a more aggressive style and increasingly-confident approach, factors that should serve him well in his efforts to return to the Flushing finale.
Meanwhile, it was a routine day in the office for Klaasen and New Zealand’s Venus. The combo went through to the second round with a solid 6-2, 6-2 win over Lukas Lacko (Slovakia) and John Millman (Australia).
Seeded eighth, Klaasen and Venus are hoping to match their fine performance at Wimbledon in July, where they reached the final.
Ranked sixth in the doubles race to London, a good finish at the US Open will dramatically improve their chances of securing a spot in the year-end ATP Masters final where the best eight year-end ranked teams battle for world championship honours.
In sweltering conditions where temperatures reached 38°C by 11am (US time) already, Klaasen and Venus kept cool, calm and collected as they dominated their opening round straight-sets win in a match lasting just 55 minutes.
‘We felt good out there today and the win was a good start to our campaign,’ said Klaasen following the victory.
‘First round matches are never easy in Grand Slams as you need to settle into the courts and atmosphere, so Michael and I are happy with the way we especially executed the first serve and dominated the points on serve.’
Klaasen and Venus were serving at an impressive 64% first serve percentage and winning 93% of the first serve points. They also won four of the eight break points thrown at them while their opponents failed to win any of the two break point opportunities they had.
‘Our opponents are good singles players, both ranked in the world’s top 100 so they have effective serves and returns so we had to get on top of them early from the start of the match, which we did,’ added Klaasen.
Klaasen and Venus will now play the winners of the match between Maximo Gonzalez and Nicolas Jerry vs David Marrero and Marcin Matkowski.
Photos: Anderson and Klaasen/Venus, supplied by BLD Communications