Cape Town - After equalling his career-high ranking, South African tennis star Kevin Anderson says he is excited for the year ahead.
After the completion of the Australian Open, the 32-year-old moved up one spot to No 5 on the ATP Tour rankings. In Melbourne, he was knocked out early in the second round by American Frances Tiafoe but gained points after improving on his first-round showing in 2018.
Significantly, Anderson is now ranked higher than Swiss great Roger Federer, who dropped three spots to No 6 in the rankings. Federer was the defending champion at the Australian Open but lost in the fourth round to Greek youngster Stefanos Tsitsipas.
Anderson first reached the world's top five in July last year after a run to the Wimbledon final where he lost to Novak Djokovic.
He took to Twitter on Monday, saying he was "excited for what the rest of the year will hold".
It was a good start to 2019 for Anderson, who captured the Maharashtra Open in Pune, India when won the battle of giants against 2.11 metres (6-foot-11) tall Ivo Karlovic.Back at a career-high No.5 ?? The first month of 2019 is coming to a close and I’m excited for what the rest of the year will hold ?? pic.twitter.com/ONdi5z3eKi
— Kevin Anderson (@KAndersonATP) January 28, 2019
Anderson, who stands at 2.03 m (6-foot-8), edged out the veteran Croat 7-6 (7/4), 6-7 (2/7), 7-6 (7/5) in the tallest ATP final in the Open Era.
Anderson's next scheduled event is the New York Open which starts on February 11 and the South African will be looking to defend the title he won there last year.
