Kevin Anderson Knocks Roger Federer Out of Wimbledon 2018: 5 Facts You Need to Know About the South African
Kevin Anderson has qualified for his first ever Wimbledon semifinal.
32-year-old South African Kevin Anderson stunned Roger Federer in a men’s singles quarterfinal of the Wimbledon 2018. The contest lasted thrilling five sets and despite losing first two sets, Anderson outplayed the twenty-time Grand Slam champion 2-6, 6-7 (5), 7-5, 6-4, 13-11. Anderson did not look like causing a shock when he lost the first set 6-2 against Federer on Court No 1. Federer soon equalled his own record of 34 consecutive sets won at Wimbledon as he went 2-0 up by holding his nerve in a tie-break. He previously won 34 straight sets between the third round in 2005 and the final in 2006, reports ANI.
However, what followed next was totally unexpected for Federer's fans as the Swiss legend was unable to break his own record after dropping the third set (7-5) as Anderson embarked on a courageous fightback. Soon, Federer was put under pressure after he lost the fourth set 6-4. Roger Federer Crashes out of Wimbledon 2018: Kevin Anderson Defeats Swiss Ace To Qualify For Semi-Finals.
The fifth set went toe to toe as both Federer and Anderson tried hard to seal the semi-finals berth. At a time when the fifth set was 11-11, Anderson held on to his nerves to take a two-point lead and win the game 13-11 and qualified for his first ever Wimbledon semifinal. Here’s a look at some of the facts about the South African you need to know.
# Born on 18 May 1986 Johannesburg, South Africa, Anderson is a permanent resident of the United States. In 2003, Anderson aged 17 started his professional tennis career in South Africa. He then moved to the US.
# At the age of six, Anderson started playing tennis. Interestingly, ahead of the 2017 US Open final against Rafael Nadal, it came to fore that Anderson would contest against the Spaniard in the juniors circuit regularly.
# In 2011, Anderson married Kelsey O’Neal, who was college level golfer. The duo met while studying at the University of Illinois. Kelsey worked as a CPA for almost three years but then left her job to be with Anderson on the ATP World Tour.
# Anderson co-founded a tennis instructional website titled Realife Tennis with his wife. The website offers online coaching about the tennis.
# Last year, in 2017, Anderson played his first Grand Slam final he made it to the summit clash of the US Open, However, in the final, Anderson lost to Nadal, 6–3, 6–3, 6–4, in straight sets. (Inputs ANI).
(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jul 12, 2018 01:04 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).