On Saturday, the match between 15th ranked Kevin Anderson and Pierre Hugues Herbert was an entertaining match. From start to finish both players did not want to lose and give it their all on the court. Before his first win since March 2012 Anderson struggled to maintain any consistency, but in the Winston-Salem Open he was nothing short, but dominant in his approach to his victory. Anderson hit 16 aces and broke Herbert’s serve twice in the fifth game of the first set and the 11th game of the second set in his route of victory.
“Coming into the week, I had some high expectations,” Anderson said. “But I was thinking back to my first match against (Kazakhstan’s Mikhail) Kukushkin on Court 2, and not playing the best first set. I had to save a bunch of break points and getting broken, and even breaking my racket. Things seemed to click after that, I felt I served very well throughout the week. As each match progresses, you get closer to the finals, and a chance of winning the tournament, that starts to play in your mind.”
Lets not take away from Pierre-Hugues Herbert, he was on the verge of breaking a record with becoming the first player in 19 years to win nine matches en route to an ATP tournament title, but Anderson was too much for him.
“I got a little bit tight (in the second set), and I don’t know why,” Herbert said. “I don’t know if I was starting to feel a little bit tired, but Anderson was playing great. He was serving unbelievable the whole match, really consistent and there was nothing much I could do.”
Herbert will get a big boost in the rankings heading into the U.S. Open. Ranked 140th entering Winston-Salem, Herbert will begin play at Flushing Meadows ranked a career-best No. 90. His previous career high was 107th in January.
“It’s been a very positive week,” Herbert said. “I came here to play some matches; I didn’t expect to play that many matches, but I’m arriving at the U.S. Open with a lot of optimism.”
