2013/05/22

Robredo wins Casablanca

 

(April 14, 2013) Spain’s Tommy Robredo captured his first title since Santiago in February 2011 with a 7-6(6), 4-6, 6-3 win over Kevin Anderson for the Casablanca crown. The 72nd ranked Robredo missed five months in 2012 due to a leg injury and fell to No. 471 in the world in the rankings.

For Robredo the victory was his 10th tournament title on clay.

“I have been practicing very well during a month in Barcelona before coming here, “ Robredo said. “I knew that I could play a good tournament here and you never know what can happen. I went match by match and kept winning. Today, I was pretty nervous since this is very important for me. I really wanted to win this. I’m very happy to win a title again after my injury. It’s just great! Those points will help me a lot in the ranking. The goal is to arrive in Roland Garros in the best form possible. After that I will sit down and have a look at my goals.”

Anderson who was playing in his first clay court final, spoke about his chances during the match.

“I thought I was in control of the match,” said the South African. “I had a lot of chances in the first set. I played a loose game to give the break back. And then in the tie-break at 6-all, I played two loose points. I came back and did well in the second. In the third, I had some good momentum, but after suddenly being up, I was down a break. I gave myself some chances to get back in the match. Obviously I’m not too happy with the errors I made on those two break points. But there are a lot of positives, which is the main thing I got to look at, as disappointing as it was not to have won it. It’s a good start for me on clay. There are still a lot of tournaments.”

 

RESULTS – SUNDAY, 14 APRIL, 2013

Singles – Final
T Robredo (ESP) d [2] K Anderson (RSA) 76(6) 46 63

Doubles – Final
[1] J Knowle (AUT) / F Polasek (SVK) d D Brown (GER) / C Kas (GER) 63 62

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Berdych Moves into BNP Paribas Open Semifinal with Win over Anderson

Berdych 1 31

(March 14, 2013) Czech Tomas Berdych continued his run at the BNP Paribas Open without dropping a set with his defeat of South Africa’s Kevin Anderson 6-4, 6-4 to move into the semifinals of Indian Wells on Thursday.

For Berdych, it’s the first time he’s reached this stage at the BNP Paribas Open.

Berdych says he’s making his way towards the top 4.  “Well, I think I’m getting closer, but those guys are still running away, Berdych told media. “I don’t know how they do it, but it’s really, really tough, you know.

“If you look at the guys who are there, it’s really, you know, very tough time.  But, you know, it doesn’t change anything for me.  I mean, I just trying to focus myself, trying to go one by one, either if it’s weeks or the matches.

“So, really, go day by day and, you know, also trying to be patient in that as well.  You know, hopefully one day I can sit and say, Yeah, all that hard work has been, you know, paying off, you know, that I was able to move, even improve the ranking or make a really big results, Grand Slam or some other, and so that’s my actually key and motivation.

Berdych will face the winner of Thursday nights’ Roger Federer – Rafael Nadal match.

“Well, my position is great, “ said the Czech.  “I’m in the semifinal and I can, you know, just lie in my bed, turn on the TV, and just watching the guys that they’re gonna play.

“So I cannot be in better position than that.  Well, my thoughts on that match, I mean, I think everybody knows who I would prefer to play.

But this is a sport, this is tennis, they will go there, and they will try to fight for the win.  The better is gonna wait for me next day.

“Yeah, need to get ready if it’s Roger or Rafa and try to bring my best game again.”

Berdych spoke about his recent success against Federer.

“Well, I think it’s quite simple,” Berdych said.  “It’s the way what I play.  With my style I can do a bit more damage to Roger, you know, because I can take, you know, his I’d say comfort on the court away and he starts to be more under pressure.

“And then, you know, that’s the way when he doesn’t feel, you know, that optimum and that good on court.  I’m not saying that I’m expert to beat him, but I’m trying to do my best to win the matches with him.  You know, in the past at least it’s been working.

“With Rafa, it’s way different, you know.  With his, you know, lefty hand and heavy spins, it’s very tough, you know, especially in these conditions.  If it’s going to be hot like this, yeah, it’s could be very, very tough one.

“But, you know, one day I hope that I’m going to find the way how to beat him again, and why not here?”

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Nadal, Federer, Hampton, Keys and Anderson on Notes and Quotes from the BNP Paribas Open

 Jamie Hampton

(March 9, 2013) INDIAN WELLS, CA – a few quotes from post-match news conferences from the BNP Paribas Open.

 

Jamie Hampton calls herself “boring.”

 

Q.  And you’re a little bit under the radar screen.  If someone came up to you and said, Hey, what’s the coolest thing about Jamie Hamilton, what would you say?

JAMIE HAMPTON:  I’m pretty boring, actually.  I wouldn’t consider myself cool at all.

Q.  Oh, come on.

JAMIE HAMPTON:  No, really.

Q.  Why is that?

JAMIE HAMPTON:  My life pretty much revolves around tennis.  I eat, sleep, and dink tennis.  There is not too much time for anything else for me.

I have to take care of my back and body.  That’s a full‑time job in itself.  To add tennis on top of that…

Q.  In the small sliver of time that you’re spending that you’re not playing tennis, what are you doing?

JAMIE HAMPTON:  Sleeping.

Q.  TV, sleeping?  Do you know who won the Oscar for best picture?

JAMIE HAMPTON:  Argon.

Q.  Close.  Argo.

JAMIE HAMPTON:  Argo.  I said Argon, didn’t I?  Dang it.  Okay.

 Madison Keys Tennis Panorama

 

Madison Keys on baking and candy.

 

Q.  Outside of listening to every country music station that’s on the radio, what do you do on your off time when you’re not killing yourself on the court?

MADISON KEYS:  I love baking, which I have to get it out of my house as soon as I bake it or else I’m going to eat it all.  But I like baking.  I have little sisters, so I hang out with them all the time, so…

I feel like I don’t really have off time, though.  When I do have off time I’m usually having to do homework still, so…

Q.  Favorite go‑to dish baking‑wise?

MADISON KEYS:  Oreo cheesecake cupcakes.  They’re so good.

Q.  Is that the one you put on your Facebook?

MADISON KEYS:  Those were just cupcakes.  The Oreo cheesecake cupcakes you put an Oreo on the bottom and fill the top with Oreo cheesecake.  They’re just in little muffin tins.  They’re delicious.

Q.  So when you break through and win a big, big tournament, will you promise to give us a round of cheesecake?

MADISON KEYS:  I was actually going to make them in Miami and bring them.  If I see you around, I will give you one.

Q.  Ever tried Sugarpova before?

MADISON KEYS:  I have, and it’s delicious.  Every time I see Max walking around with a bag of it, I’m like, Is there one for me?

Q.  Can you imagine getting a little of Maria’s candy into your baking?

MADISON KEYS:  That could be good.  Now I’m going to think about it.

 anderson600400

Kevin Anderson a member of the ATP Council on the 25-second rule

 

KEVIN ANDERSON:  Well, we’ll be meeting next week in Miami, so we will be getting an update on that.

I think it’s a good rule.  I think it’s always tough because it’s not like ‑‑ I mean, you have to sometimes take into consideration, you know, extenuating circumstances.  If you play like an incredibly long point or the ball kids ‑‑ maybe the ball goes out or something.

Just from the standpoint I think it’s a good rule.  It makes it fair for everybody.  But I have heard ‑‑ as the year has gone on, some guys are saying it’s getting a bit more lax.  There aren’t as many time violations going on out there.  I just heard a couple guys saying with different matches some people are sticking to the rule and some people aren’t.

It’s a work in progress, so hopefully after Miami we will be able to sort of assess where it’s at and see what other people are feeling.  I mean, just have to go from there.

Asked about if he’s in favor of a shot clock

 

KEVIN ANDERSON:  Yeah, and when we implemented the rule at the US Open we chatted about that a bit, whether there is an affordability issue.

Also, I don’t think it’s ‑‑ it’s one of those things where there are sometimes circumstances that come up that you do need more than the 25 seconds that’s out of your control.

But if there is a shot clock there it might make things trickier.  I don’t think it’s like basketball where the time continues all the time.  You are waiting for other people.  That would be something we’d have to have a trial or something to see how that would work out.

 Roger Federer-001

Federer on Nadal

 

Q.  What will be a sign on a hard court that he’s (Nadal) playing well?  Anything in particular?

ROGER FEDERER:  Progressing in the draw.  (Laughter.)

 

Yeah, wins don’t lie.

 

Nadal

Nadal on hardcourts and Federer

 

 

Q.  Here in America it’s hard court, hard court, hard court.  Do you think there should be more clay court tournaments?

RAFAEL NADAL:  I don’t want to say that, because anything that I will say not gonna affect in my career.  That’s not going to change during the years that I will be playing, no?

I think it’s more medical things than players think.  Hard courts are aggressive for the body.

If for the next generations wants to have longer careers and want to finish his careers with better conditions physically, that’s my humble opinion.  ATP have to find a solution and not continue playing more and more tournaments on this surface that is the harder one for the joints and for the knees, for the foot, for the ankles, for the back, for everything.

Q.  You’re the main one who talks about hard courts and wanting to have more tournaments not on hard courts.  Not as many as the other top players discuss that.  Do you think that a lot of players discuss your opinion, or do you think it’s more your personal experience, more you than other people?

RAFAEL NADAL:  Depends.  If you will ask a player who plays fantastic on this court is a thing that ‑‑ sorry.  At the end, we are here.  At the end, it’s an individual game.  At the end, everybody thinks for himself.

And if somebody plays great on this surface, it’s difficult to go against this surface, no?  Is normal that if the volume of the tournaments on hard are more than in the rest of the surfaces, is normal than like the top players of the world, best players of the world, are specialists on hard courts.

So they not gonna go against the hard court.  That’s why I say is not another players’ thing, it’s a medical thing.  Somebody have to think not for today.  I repeat:  I’m not talking about my career.  My career is done.

We gonna finish my career playing on the same or more tournaments on hard, because that’s the dynamic.

But, yes, no, my opinion is for the next generations that something have to change.

 

Q.  Is it kind of amazing how healthy Roger has stayed throughout his career, considering all the hard court tennis he’s played?

RAFAEL NADAL:  No.  It’s amazing?  I don’t think so.  I think, you know, he’s very good.  Don’t take my words because my English is not perfect, no?  But I think he’s very lucky to have this talent, no?  The talent of Roger is amazing, and the things that he’s able to do it, you know, the rest of the ‑‑ all the players, we are not able to play this way.

He win a lot of matches with, you know, short points; win a lot of matches with the serve, with one forehand.

So, you know, that’s why he’s able to keep having big, you know, big career and very long.

That’s amazing thing that’s have a lot of value.  No, nothing to say about that.  He’s great, and for many reason he’s the best of the history, no?

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Anderson Tops No. 4 Ferrer

 

David Ferrer

David Ferrer

(March 9, 2013) World No. 4 David Ferrer became the first major casualty of the BNP Paribas Open on Saturday when the Spaniard fell to big-serving South African Kevin Anderson 3-6, 6-4, 6-3.

Ferrer who already has captured two ATP World this season was demolished in the final of the Mexican Open by compatriot Rafael Nadal.

Ferrer gave credit to his opponent. “He was better than me, “Ferrer said.  “He serve better.”

“Well, of course I am disappoint(ed), no, because I lost in first round,” he continued.

“But this is tennis, and it’s impossible to win always.  Kevin Anderson was better than me.  What can I do?”

Anderson broke Ferrer four times and won 70% of his first serve points with six aces.

“It was fantastic,” Anderson said of the win. “Obviously David is a great player, and especially in the last few years he’s really stepped it up.  Beating a top 5 in the world player is always ‑‑ it’s a great feeling, and especially somebody like David who doesn’t go away.

“I mean, he fights for everything; doesn’t give you everything.  I felt I earned the win today.”

The win is very significant for the South African who is coming off  right elbow surgery after losing at the Australian Open.

“Everything else is completely fine, ” said Anderson.  “Just that extension on the serve gives it a little bit of pain, and it fatigues quite quickly.

“So right now just really serving on match days.  Taking it quite easy on days off.  Hopefully, you know, just as time goes on, doing a lot of the treatment and rehab, I will be able to slowly start increasing that load.”

Anderson will play face Finland’s Jarkko Nieminen next. The Finn destroyed Spaniard Fernando Verdasco 6-1, 6-0.

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Tomic Wins First ATP Title at Sydney

Bernard Tomic

(January 12, 2013) Australian Bernard Tomic won his first career ATP World Tour title at the Apia International Sydney Saturday night with a dramatic 6-3, 6-7 (2), 6-3 with over South African Kevin Anderson.

 

“It’s an amazing feeling. Now that I know what it feels like to win a tournament, it’s the best feeling in the world,” said Tomic.

“It’s an honor to have won my first tournament in front of you,” Tomic said, referring to receiving the Ken Rosewall trophy from the man himself in the arena named after him. “It’s been a long road, but finally I have one of these trophies.”

 

“It’s an amazing feeling. Now that I know what it feels like to win a tournament and it’s the best feeling in the world. I’m so happy I won. To do it here in Sydney is awesome. I can’t ask for anything better. I’m so proud of myself. Can’t stop here now. Now I’ve got to look to the next tournament and keep playing the tennis I’ve been playing.

“It’s my first title, and I know I’ll win a lot more if I keep this attitude up. I’m happy for this year now. I’m so excited. I’m looking forward to Melbourne. I feel unstoppable. I feel like I’m playing great tennis. It’s amazing stepping on court. You’re so confident. That’s going to be taken down to Melbourne and I’m going to use that for every match I play there.

“He’s not easy to play. I was lucky I got that double fault in the third set, because anything could have happened after that. I did play well off the ground. I served pretty good, but he was serving outstanding. Third set was epic. I think under pressure I played really good tennis.”

Defending doubles champions Bob and Mike Bryan kept their title Saturday with a decisive 6-4, 6-4 win over fellow doubles experts Horia Tecau and Max Mirnyi.

 

The victory for Tomic is his eighth straight, creating a great lead-in to his home major, the Australian Open. Since the beginning of the new season, the Australian has had a good string of wins over player ranked higher than he is – Novak Djokovic, Tommy Haas and Andreas Seppi at Hopman Cup in Perth and in Sydney  wins over  fellow Australian Marinko Matosevic , Florian Mayer,  Andreas Seppi and Anderson.

Tomic takes to the court next at the Australian Open in Melbourne as the No. 1 Australian on Tuesday versus Argentina’s Leonardo Mayer and could face Roger Federer if he reaches the third round.

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Tennis Players and Chefs Serve Up a Feast for Charity at Taste of Tennis

 

Taste of Tennis1

By Jaclyn Stacey

(January 10, 2013) MELBOURNE, Australia – A service game of a different kind was on the menu for the tennis stars who attended the 4th Annual Melbourne Swisse Taste of Tennis event held at the Grand Hyatt Hotel on Thursday night.

 

Players joined with chefs from Melbourne’s top restaurants to serve up gourmet treats to A-list guests in the name of charity.

 

Many top 20 ATP and WTA players featured among the guests at the event which raised money for Diabetes Australia and the National Institute of Integrative Medicine. Top ten players Janko Tipsarevic and Richard Gasquet graced the red carpet, along with other notable players including Marion Bartoli, Marin Cilic, Kevin Anderson, Lucie Safarova, Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova and Ivo Karlovic.

 

Former world No. 1 Lleyton Hewitt paired with celebrity chef George Colombaris to kick off the evening with a special presentation on stage before chefs and players combined to act as food servers, handing out small gourmet delights throughout the night.

 

Celebrities and chefs began arriving at the venue from 6.30pm sporting a wide variety of outfits based on the ‘elegantly casual’ dress theme. Many of the men came smartly dressed in jeans, while Marion Bartoli and the Rodionova sisters glammed up the red carpet in sky high heels and sleek dresses.

 

British Fed Cup captain Judy Murray is known to tweet her love of desserts to her 49,000 plus twitter following, and expressed her delight at the event’s offerings. She said “we’ve had a great time because to be able to go around and try small amounts of lots of different things is great. I think the trick is to pace yourself so that you have enough room left for desserts.”

 

Murray also spoke of her hope for the British girls at the Australian Open starting on Monday and said she is hopeful for a good run from Heather Watson and Laura Robson who have both recently broken into the top 50 singles rankings for the first time.

 

Swedish doubles specialist Robert Lindstedt enjoyed the social aspect of the evening and said it’s a welcome break from the day to day. “It’s great. It’s nice for the people to turn out where most of the guests are not players so it’s quite nice.” He said that on tour “we enjoy good food. We always try to find maybe not always the nicest restaurants because they’re a bit expensive but we always try to eat well so food like this is what we look for.”

 

Serbia’s Nenad Zimonjic said he loves eating out at restaurants. “It’s something that I enjoy doing and also traveling around the world I have the chance to try different cuisines. But when I’m at home I like a home cooked meal and I’m really lucky that my wife cooks really well so I enjoy that as well.”

 

Silent auctions were held throughout the night to raise money for the elected charities. Items up for auction included signed memorabilia of international sporting stars such as Tiger Woods, Sebastian Vettel and Cristiano Ronaldo, as well as experiences including dining packages and the opportunity to have a personal chef serve you at your home.

 

The Norman Brookes Challenge Cup and the Daphne Akhurst Memorial Cup were also a popular attraction on the night, with guests lining up for the chance to hold and have a photo taken with the Australian Open championship trophies.

Jaclyn Stacey is a Melbourne based freelance journalist covering the Australian Open tournament as media for Tennis Panorama News.  Follow her Australian Open updates on @TennisNewsTPN. Follow her persona @JackattackAU.
All photos by Melinda Samson who runs the site Grand Slam Gal. Follow her on twitter @Grandslamgal.
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ATP Announces New Player Council

From the ATP World Tour: LONDON — The new ATP Player Council, selected by ATP player members, was announced at the pre-Wimbledon player meeting this evening. The new ATP Player Council includes returning players Roger Federer, Jarkko Nieminen, Eric Butorac and Andre Sa (served 2002-2004), as well as a number of new faces, elected for a two-year term to represent the ATP player membership.

Members elected by their peers to serve on the ATP Player Council through June 2014 are:

1-50 Singles: Kevin Anderson, Roger Federer, Jarkko Nieminen, Gilles Simon
51-100 Singles: Robin Haase, Sergiy Stakhovsky
1-100 Doubles: Mahesh Bhupathi, Eric Butorac
At-Large: James Cerretani, Andre Sa
Alumni: Brian Gottfried
Coach: Claudio Pistolesi (also served 2010-12)

ATP Executive Chairman and President Brad Drewett said, “I’d like to congratulate the newly-elected ATP Player Council and thank those players who have concluded their terms. The ATP Player Council plays an incredibly important role in the governance of the ATP, with a seat at the table all year round, helping to make decisions that affect the operation of the ATP World Tour. The players who serve give a significant amount of their personal time, more than people may realise. The men’s game is driving the unprecedented popularity and commercial success of the sport today, and I believe the opportunities ahead of us are very exciting.”

The new ATP Player Council will have its first meeting in New York prior to the US Open, where the President and Vice President will be elected.

Federer, who begins his third term on the council, said, “It has been four years of good work with the Player Council in which we have made progress in some areas. There is more to do and I am happy to be back with the council group. It’s great to see some new players step up and I look forward to working with them to continue to grow our sport.”

First-time council member Simon said, “I have been on the Tour for a long time, and have learned a lot about tournaments and players. I have some ideas to share with the other players, and feel it is important for us to work together and make good decisions. Tennis is at the top and we want to continue to improve.”

Doubles representative Bhupathi said, “The boys have put some faith in me to represent them in the Player Council and I will do my best. It is an interesting time with the top three players at the helm of the sport. There are many issues that are being addressed and I’m happy to be able to contribute with some input.”

The ATP Player Council meets several times a year and makes recommendations to ATP Management and the ATP Board of Directors through the three Player Board representatives, whom the Council elects.

On Friday, Giorgio di Palermo was re-elected by the outgoing Player Council as Player Board representative from the European region. Di Palermo will serve another three-year term starting January 1, 2013. The ATP Board of Directors comprises three Player Representatives, three Tournament Representatives, and ATP Executive Chairman and President Brad Drewett.

Drewett said, “I also extend my congratulations to Giorgio di Palermo for his re-election as a Player Board representative. Giorgio has contributed much in his first three years and it’s great that he is returning.

How The ATP Is Structured

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Dolgopolov, Anderson, Young and Blake Join Winston-Salem Field

Alexandr Dolgopolov, Kevin Anderson,  Donald Young and James Blake have signed to compete in the second annual Winston-Salem Open at Wake Forest University.  The tournament will be held August 18-25, 2012, at the Wake Forest Tennis Complex adjacent to BB&T Field.

 

“The four players we’re announcing today join John Isner and Andy Roddick to form an incredible early field of contenders who will be competing in this year’s tournament,” Winston-Salem Open director Bill Oakes said.

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Djokovic, Sharapova Through, Stosur, Fish Upset at Indian Wells

 

Serbia’s Novak Djokovic tamed the big serve of South African Kevin Anderson 6-2, 6-3 to move into the round of 16 at the BNP Paribas Open at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden on Monday. World No. 1 Djokovic  is now  12-1 for the year.

Djokovic said that the match was closer than the score indicated: “It was, especially in the start.  We had a couple of long games, especially the one at 2‑All.  You know, I expected that, in a way, because I have played him.  Last two times I have played him a won straight sets, but, again, the opening set, especially opening five games, took half an hour or more.

“So he’s very aggressive on the return games.  He has a great serve, as you can imagine for his height.  So I had to return well, I had to just be patient, and wait for my chances.

“I haven’t served well in the opening set, but then it all came down to, you know, his service games.  I think I served well and put a lot of pressure on him and returned really, really good.

“So I’m really happy with this win today, you know.  It wasn’t easy to expect to win.”

 

Maria Sharapova took out Simona Halep 6-3 6-4. The Russian was tested in the second set as Halep came back from 2 breaks down at 1-5 to make it 4-5 but could not extend the match any longer. Sharapova noted: “started slow in the match and got myself going.  I thought I played extremely well the first four or five games of that set.  Almost too good, in a way, where I felt like I was going for a lot and making a lot of shots.  Then felt like I almost started going for a little bit too much.

“Yeah, instead of being patient, maybe, you know, putting a few more balls back, I just hit a few errors that I shouldn’t have made.  Yeah, then all of a sudden your opponent gains confidence because they have nothing to lose.  Kind of in a bad situation.

“Yeah, I got it together in the end.”

 

Russia’s Nadia Petrova gained some revenge on sixth seeded Sam Stosur by taking her out 6-1,6-7(6), 7-6(5). Stosur stopped Petrova in a three set marathon match on the way to the 2011 US Open title.

“After that loss in New York it’s been hard, “ Petrova said. “I was very pumped coming out today.  I wanted to turn everything around.  I wanted to win and walk off the court with a W.

“I don’t really think I played unbelievable in the first set.  My composure was perfect.  I took the time.  No errors.  I must say Sam didn’t play her best.  She was framing balls.  She was not really putting a lot of first serves.

“So that actually helped me to get the lead in the match, and then she picked up her game in the middle of the second set.  That’s when she started to play Sam’s game.”

 

American Mardy Fish was the upset of the day on the men’s side, taken out by Matthew Ebden of Australian 6-3, 6-4. Fish was called for violating the hindrance rule at 4-4 in the second set when he yelled “Come on,” when he thought he had hit a winning shot before Ebden could get to the ball.

Fish told media:”I feel like the rule is off in a sense that, okay, if he makes that shot, I’m totally fine with giving him the point because, you know, I was ‑‑ I spoke too soon, for sure.

“But I feel like maybe we should play a let on that just because and I won’t you know, not even take the point.  There’s just no way that you could say that that shot was going to go in had I not said anything if you’re 100% certain on that.

“I made a mistake, and I would have been totally fine with playing a let on it.  But to give, you know  I mean, that’s a pretty big spot there, you know.  You’re one point away from basically losing the match and going  I was one point away from holding.

“I mean, that didn’t really have  I don’t think it had an effect on him making or missing the shot.  But I feel like maybe a let there, unless he hits the shot in.  Then that’s different.”

 

Two more victims of the “IW virus,” Francesca Schiavone the 10th seed retired from her match after losing the first set to Lucie Safarova and Petra Kvitova who lost on Sunday in singles withdrew from doubles.

Other seeded winners on Monday were: No. 4 Caroline Wozniacki who had to rally from a set and 4-5 down, No. 7 Marion Bartoli, No. 15 Ana Ivanovic, No. 20 Maria Kirilenko, No. 21 Roberta Vinci, No. 7 Andy Roddick who stopped No. 30 Andy Roddick in three sets, No. 11 John Isner,  No. 12 Nicolas Almagro and No. 13 Giles Simon.

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Anderson Wins Delray Beach International Tennis Championships

South African Kevin Anderson captured his second title on the ATP World Tour, when he defeated 173rd ranked Marinko Matosevic 6-4, 7-6(2) for the Delray Beach crown.

“It feels fantastic. It’s my first one in the United States,” Anderson said, “which is great. I feel apart from South Africa, this is my new home. My wife Kelsey was here for the weekend… This is a very important tournament for me. I feel it’s good preparation going to Indian wells and Miami and playing outside.

“Both of us were a little nervous at the start of match, so I had to find my rhythm. I think at the end, I felt I was mentally composed throughout [the tournament]. I didn’t let any patches of bad tennis affect my mindset [this week].”

The Australian Matosevic had a career week reaching his first ATP World Tour final as a qualifier.

“I’ve been training really hard,” said the Austrlaian. “People have been telling me hard work pays off, and I guess in some small way, a little bit paid off this week. Before the week, if you told me that I’d make the final, I’d be the happiest guy in the world. Then when you get there and you play the match, I feel like I was just a few points from winning the match or turning the match, but I just couldn’t do it. It can only help me I guess.

“My energy levels were pretty low. I just couldn’t serve well today, but credit to Kevin. He was the better player today.”

 

Singles – Final
[7] K Anderson (RSA) d [Q] M Matosevic (AUS) 64 76(2)

Doubles – Final
[3] C Fleming (GBR) / R Hutchins (GBR) d M Mertinak (SVK) / A Sa (BRA) 26 76(5) 15-13 – Saved 1 M.P.

For more Delray Beach coverage go to Miami Tennis News.

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