Throwback to April 2015 and a feature published in Business Day Sport Monthly by GARY LEMKE on Kevin Anderson, who has reached a career-high No 5 in the world rankings after finishing runner-up at Wimbledon.
As Kevin Anderson boards yet another flight he bends his tall frame as he enters the plane – and turns right. You’d ordinarily expect a professional tennis player who is ranked in the top 20 in the world to sit in business class each time he travels, or perhaps for a man who Spanish superstar Rafael Nadal considers a friend, even have his own plane. But no, Anderson travels economy class.
‘I have to say it is not always the case, because over the years we have raked up so many air miles that sometimes we are able to upgrade to business class. But when we can’t I have to make sure I’m very, very friendly to the check-in agent in the hope of getting an emergency exit seat in economy.
Anderson was speaking after returning to his US base from the Acapulco Open in Mexico, where he had reached the semi-finals before losing to Kei Nishikori in three competitive sets. Defeat was no disgrace, given the Japanese 25-year-old has risen to No 4 in the world and is the reigning US Open runner-up after a dream run at the New York Grand Slam. However, last year Anderson had reached the final in Mexico, where he lost a tight match to top-tenner Grigor Dimitrov, which meant he shed a few ranking points and slipped from a career high No 15 to No 17.
‘I can’t imagine there are many sports that require more travelling than tennis. I’m a tall guy [2.03m] so sometimes it can be difficult squeezing into a small seat.’ Those air miles keep coming. Anderson’s year started in Brisbane, before stopping in Auckland and then on to the Australian Open in Melbourne, where he lost in the fourth round to Nadal. Three weeks later he was back in Memphis, where he reached the final, only to lose to Nishikori, and then after that it was Delray Beach and Acapulco.
Anderson considers himself to be South African, although he has made no secret of the fact that he is applying for United States citizenship. This is largely to help him with his travels and the visa complications that can arise on a South African passport, although he is married to an American, Kelsey, and has set up home in Florida. He hasn’t played Davis Cup tennis for South Africa for three years and by so doing – or rather, not doing – he has put his place on next year’s Olympic Games roster in jeopardy.
‘Look, I have never had the intention to play Davis Cup for the United States, no matter what the rumours or reports have suggested. Nothing can be further from the truth. My applying for US citizenship is unrelated to the Davis Cup,’ he told me. ‘I look at each Davis Cup tie in advance and evaluate how it fits into my schedule. My main priorities are to stay healthy and make the best decisions for my career. Unfortunately, Davis Cup hasn’t aligned itself with these priorities of mine. But if and when it does, my mindset will be that of representing South Africa again, having last played for my country in 2011.
‘However, playing the best-of-five sets in three consecutive days is very tough on my body and there is no safety net provided in the event of me getting injured. I have to carry all my own medical costs. I injured my hip and knee in a World Group play-off to Croatia in 2011, and then changed my priorities after that. I would dearly love to represent South Africa at the Rio Olympics next year, but as the governing body [ITF] requires Davis Cup participation to ensure qualification, I can’t say if I will be eligible or not.’
Everything Anderson says about his allegiance to South Africa and his views on the Davis Cup tally with his performance in the rankings. He started 2011 at No 61 in the world and by the end of that year he had moved to 32. The following year was up and down and by Christmas 2012 he was back at 37. However, 2013 was a good one and he surged to 20, before climbing to a high of 16 last year. Since then, after that fourth-round loss to Nadal at the Australian Open he climbed another spot to 15.
Anderson and Nadal, a winner of 14 Grand Slam singles titles and one of the greatest players of all-time, paid tribute to the 28-year-old South African after getting home in straight sets. The pair’s friendship goes back 16 years when Anderson competed on the Nike Junior Tour International Masters in Stuttgart at the age of 12. It was cold and sleety in the German city and Team South Africa booked two indoor practice courts for the boys. While they were hard at work, the Spanish team arrived and, with no courts booked for them, asked if they could share with South Africa. Nadal started hitting with Anderson.
After beating the South African in Melbourne in January, a picture of the two from that occasion in 1998 was shown up on the big screen at the Rod Laver Arena. Nadal looked up and told the crowd: ‘Kevin is a fantastic player. He’s a great guy. We have known each other since we were kids and we are the same age so it’s always a pleasure to see a player of your own age in the advanced rounds of the most important tournaments of the world. I wish Kevin all the best. Kevin is a good person – and that’s the most important thing – and he’s a fantastic player.’
A quick look at the official ATP site lists Anderson as South African and the national flag flies proudly next to his name. Yet, in his home country he continues to divide opinion, as some feel he’s ‘sold out’ by wanting to embrace United States citizenship.
Yet, while Anderson has been known to come across as defensive when interviewed by the media – he appears sceptical of the Fourth Estate – he has never had any other than South African colours nailed to the skyscraper mast. For example, on 1 January he took to Twitter to tell his 31 000 followers: ‘There’s still time to give to charity for 2014! I support children in South Africa throughacresoflove.org.’
He then used the social media network to send congratulations to AB de Villiers, during his sensational innings against West Indies at the Wanderers. ‘Watching @ABdeVilliers17 just smash it! Unbelievable, no better way to spend my evening before the Australian Open begins. #worldrecord’
His coach is Neville Godwin, who is South African and he has a big fan in Wayne Ferreira, who was a household name from 1990 to 2005 and who reached a career high of No 6. Ironically, Ferreira now also lives in the United States, where he owns a successful business, but he holidays in South Africa and was here in December.
Of Anderson, Ferreira says: ‘I think he’s great. I would have hoped he would have done better up until now but he has had a couple of injuries and setbacks. He is starting to play good tennis at the age he is. He has a few more good years left in him.’
Ferreira was never known for his mental strength – but when in the zone he was more than a match for anyone on the circuit – and he has seen similar frailties in Anderson.
‘For me it is more about the mental side with him. He is solid on all counts. He serves well, has good ground strokes, and sometimes his backhand can be a little bit of a weakness because he hits it quite flat without much spin. The only times he really falters is on the mental side, just the belief. I’m not sure he really believes he is as good as he actually is.’
Anderson was let down – and admitted as much after losing the first set 7-5 to Nadal in Melbourne, dropping his venomous serve that comes from such a huge height in the 12th game. ‘I was a little bit disappointed by how much I let that one game affect me. I felt that I started off really well. It was the kind of tennis I need to play to be here,’ he said afterwards.
In his climb up the ATP rankings, Anderson has shown he has more to his game than a big serve and the wingspan of an albatross. His coach spent long hours with him to improve his ground strokes when he gets into the rallies and also to make his net approaches more effective. That remains a work in progress – as does his dream to win a Grand Slam title. In fact, while he has seven ATP runners-up finishes, his conversion rate is not high enough as he has only won two of the nine finals he’s appeared in, the first in Johannesburg in 2011 and a year later in Delray Beach.
‘I do believe I can beat anyone on my day so a Grand Slam title is my ultimate goal. Last year I played Andy Murray on Centre Court at Wimbledon, which was an incredible experience and one I have learned from. I don’t think I was overawed as I actually played some of my best tennis, especially in the third set.’ Although Anderson lost 6-4 6-3 7-6 he held his head high. ‘These are the occasions every pro wants to be a part of and I’m no different, so I can only hope there are many more matches ahead.’
Away from the monotony of the travels, practising and general stresses and strains, Anderson has been teaching himself to play the guitar. He laughs. ‘I have been learning for about two and a half years. I think the songs that come easiest to me are a couple of Jack Johnson originals, The Scientist by Coldplay and then the normal “beginner” classics like Wonderwall by Oasis, Time of your Life by Green Day and Save Tonight by Eagle-Eye Cherry.’
Suddenly switched from talking about tennis, Anderson revels in talking about his guitar-playing hobby. ‘Right now I’m learning some songs of one of my absolute favourite bands, the Red Hot Chili Peppers. I actually haven’t only set myself tennis targets … I also have one when it comes to music, though to call it a career would be stretching the point.’ And he laughs again. ‘My goal this year is to get on stage and perform some songs with the Bryan Bros Band.’
Bob and Mike Bryan are identical twins famed for their doubles exploits, having chalked up a record 104 men’s doubles tennis titles, including 16 Grand Slams. In 2009 they released their debut album, with Mike on guitar and drums and Bob on the keyboard. Both are 36, with Mike being the elder by two minutes. They’ve shared the stage with the likes of Sheryl Crow and Counting Crows drummer Jim Bogios, and at the 2010 US Open they played music to a crowd of 20 000. Anderson wants to be part of that, ‘making music’.
Yet, for now the day job remains trying to climb even higher than the 15th spot on the rankings that he reached early this year. ‘I’m not about to get into parenthood just yet as my focus is on maximising my career. In a few years’ time it will be valuable to start thinking about “what’s next”, because I’m definitely going to need to bridge the gap between retirement and life after tennis.’
And with that it was time to go. Another tournament to prepare for, another few time zones to conquer, but not before exchanging more air miles, or, failing that, being very, very nice to the check-in staff.
This first appeared in the April 2015 issue of the award-winning Business Day Sport Monthly
Photo: AELTC/Ben Solomon
