The 21st century
South Africa · born Johannesburg, 1986 · right-handed · Wimbledon finalist in 2018 after the longest semi-final in its history
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6h 36m
His 2018 Wimbledon semi-final against John Isner, the longest semi-final at the Championships
26-24
Final-set score of that semi-final
13-11
Fifth set of his 2018 quarter-final win over Roger Federer, after saving a match point
No. 5
Career-high ranking, 16 July 2018, the day after the Wimbledon final
7
ATP singles titles, the last on grass at Newport in 2021
Kevin Anderson was born in Johannesburg in 1986 and grew up running the 800 metres at school as well as playing tennis. At 2.03m he became one of the tallest players on the tour. He played college tennis at the University of Illinois, where he won the 2006 national doubles title with Ryan Rowe and was an All-American, and turned professional in 2007.
He reached two major finals: the 2017 US Open, lost to Rafael Nadal, and Wimbledon in 2018, lost to Novak Djokovic. After that final he rose to No. 5, the first South African in the top five since Kevin Curren. Elbow and knee injuries followed; he played only 15 matches in 2019 and had knee surgery in 2020. He came back to win a seventh title at Newport in 2021, retired in May 2022 at 35, and returned briefly in 2023 with a wildcard at Newport.
| Newport 2021 | As a wildcard and eighth seed, beat the 20-year-old Jenson Brooksby 7-6 (10-8), 6-4 in the final after trailing 5-2 in the first-set tie-break; the largest age gap in a final in the tournament's history |
|---|---|
| Wimbledon 2018 quarter-final | Beat the defending champion Roger Federer 2-6, 6-7 (5-7), 7-5, 6-4, 13-11, saving a match point at 4-5 in the third set, with 28 aces. It was his first win over Federer and his first Wimbledon quarter-final |
| Wimbledon 2018 semi-final | Beat John Isner 7-6 (8-6), 6-7 (5-7), 6-7 (9-11), 6-4, 26-24 in six hours and 36 minutes, played in a single day. Lost the final to Novak Djokovic 6-2, 6-2, 7-6 |
| Queen's 2015 | Lost the final to Andy Murray in straight sets |
| Newport, Rhode Island | ||
|---|---|---|
| 2021 | Men's singles Hall of Fame Open | |
Leading grass titles only: the grass majors, tour-level grass events since 1968 and the leading grass championships before 1968. †single source; ‡ sources disagree. Roll of champions
"Tennis carried me far beyond my roots in Johannesburg, South Africa, and truly gave me the world"
The person behind the player.
Wimbledon, July 2018
Down a match point on his own serve at 4-5 in the third set against Federer, he came to the net and Federer mistimed a backhand. "I think I remember the point pretty well. The ball was there to be hit. (I) went after it," he said. In the fifth set Federer double-faulted at 11-all and Anderson served out the match with a 128 mph serve.
Source: Mail & GuardianWimbledon, July 2018
His semi-final against John Isner, the man who had played the 11-hour match against Nicolas Mahut in 2010, finished 26-24 in the fifth set. Djokovic and Nadal then played their semi-final into the Saturday, and Djokovic beat an exhausted Anderson in the final the next day.
Source: Wimbledon Compendium 2025Wimbledon, 2019
Following the Anderson and Isner semi-final, Wimbledon introduced a tie-break for any match reaching 12-12 in the final set. It was used only once in singles that year, in the final between Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic.
Source: Wimbledon Compendium 2025Newport, July 2021
At 35, a year after knee surgery, he won the Hall of Fame Open, his first title since Pune in 2019. "It's been quite a road, a lot of injuries, surgeries," he said. "Winning a title definitely means a lot." Asked about his age: "I guess I'm towards the end, but I'm definitely really motivated to keep going."
Source: NBC SportsJohannesburg, 1990s
He started playing at six and ran the 800 metres at school. At 12 he was regularly playing Rafael Nadal on the junior circuit; he is also a guitarist and a fan of Dire Straits and Mark Knopfler.
Source: WikipediaFree membership: player news, the grass court Atlas, the rankings and the grass season calendar.
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