When opponents face Kevin Anderson on the tennis court, it must seem to them like he's serving from the tree tops. South Africa's Anderson stands 6 feet 8 inches (203cm) high, the third- tallest man on the ATP world tour. Croatia's Ivo Karlovic leads the way for big men at 6 foot 10, followed by 6 foot 9 John Isner of the United States.
Anderson, the world ranked 64th, is seeded second at the $125,000 ATP Samsung Securities Cup Challenger event beginning today at the Olympic Park Tennis Center in Seoul, and ending Sunday, a tournament won seven times since 2000 by Korea's Lee Hyung-taik.
The top seed is 42-ranked Yen-Hsun Lu of Taiwan, who beat Andy Roddick on his way to the quarterfinals at this year's Wimbledon. The other seeds are Florent Serra, France; Dudi Sela, Israel; Somdev Devvarman, India; Frederico Gil, Portugal; Go Saeda, Japan, and Grega Zemlja, Slovakia.
Anderson, 24, made his breakthrough this summer, reaching the semifinals in Atlanta, the round of 16 in Toronto - losing 6-2, 7-6 to Rafael Nadal - and the round of 32 at the U.S. Open in August.
'My serve is my biggest strength,' Anderson said, after a Sunday morning training session at Olympic Park, with South African coach Louis Vosloo. 'Since the Australian Open in January, I've been looking to move forward more, to come from the back of the court to the net, to take advantage of my serve.'
From 2004 through 2007, Anderson attended the University of Illinois - one of the top schools in the U.S. for tennis _ on a tennis scholarship, achieving a ranking of number 4 among college players. He was able to win from the back of the court in college. But in the pros, players like Roger Federer and Nadal, aren't going to miss after ten or twenty-stroke rallies.
'I was fully a baseline player,' Anderson, who regularly serves at 130 mph, (216 kmph), admitted. 'I hesitated to move forward and take control of the point.'
When the lanky 195-pounder (89 kg) began to do so after the Australian Open, the results came quickly. In the first round at Wimbledon in June, Anderson led two sets to none against top-10 player Nikolay Davydenko of Russia, before succumbing in five tight sets in four hours and 13 minutes.
'At Wimbledon, Anderson served and volleyed about two thirds of the time,' said Vosloo, formerly ranked 170th in the world and Anderson's coach since April. 'Now, he comes in and volleys about a third of time.'
Anderson's new-found aggressiveness has paid off. During spring and summer, he played a string of top-30 players: Fernando Gonzalez, Nicolas Almagro, Jurgen Melzer and Richard Gasquet, and stretched each to the limit.
Anderson was the top junior player in South Africa growing up in Johannesburg, but due to the national tennis federation being in turmoil, and almost bankrupt, when he competed at junior grand slam tournaments, it was with family funding.
'And South Africa is so far from the tennis scene,' he said, adding that is why he moved to Chicago, his base outside South Africa, in 2004.
The fast Olympic Park courts should suit Anderson's game in this, the final ATP event in Korea for 2010.
Spectator Information: Tournament desk information (English) - 02-421-1350; Admission: free; Matches: 11 a.m. to 6 p.m., daily; Finals: 1 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 24;
The write contriuted this article to The Korea Times.
