Former runner-up puts US Open in jeopardy after another withdrawal
A year ago, Kevin Anderson was world no. 5 who was hoping for another great run at the US Open, losing in the final to Rafael Nadal in 2017. The South African failed to repeat that result but did enough to secure the spot at the ATP Finals for the first time, defeating Kei Nishikori and Dominic Thiem to secure the place in the semi-final where he lost to Novak Djokovic. Things have not been that great for a two-time Grand Slam finalist in 2019, though, struggling with right elbow and knee injuries and playing only five tournaments and 15 matches.
Anderson was forced to miss all the action after Wimbledon and has lost a lot of places on the ATP ranking list, dropping out from the top-15 for the first time since November 2017 and missing a chance to chase points in Winston-Salem as he had to withdraw despite receiving a wild card. The six-time ATP champion is not ready to play again and this puts his participation at the US Open in jeopardy after bowing out from every tournament that leads towards the last Major of the season. At the beginning of the season, Anderson prevailed against Ivo Karlovic to win the title in Pune in what had been the tallest ATP final in the Open era, losing early at the Australian Open and skipping all the action until Miami where he won just four games against Roger Federer in the quarter-final.
Deciding to skip the entire clay season and rest that troubled elbow, Kevin returned at Queen's and lost in the second round, heading to Wimbledon with no form or momentum and hitting the exit door in the third round when Guido Pella toppled him in straight sets. After such a long break, it is not wise to expect anything big from Kevin in New York if he decides to play it but he should be back inside the top-20 (in case of dropping out, of course) by the end of the season if he brings his best tennis in the last two months of 2019, having 1000 points to defend.
from Tennis World USA https://ift.tt/2Zd0W6D
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