South Africa’s Kevin Anderson vows to use the pain of his Wimbledon final defeat as fuel to finally win a Grand Slam title.
Riddled by nerves and plagued by fatigue, Anderson slumped to a 6-2, 6-2 and 7-6 loss against Novak Djokovic in Sunday’s showpiece.
It was a bitter pill for Anderson to swallow after he spent six hours and 36 minutes battling to see off John Isner in a last-four clash that ranked as the second longest singles match in Grand Slam history.
After losing last year’s US Open final to Rafael Nadal in straight sets, the 32-year-old could be forgiven for fearing he will never win a major in an era dominated by the Spaniard, Djokovic and Roger Federer.
But, having stunned Federer in the Wimbledon quarterfinals with a fightback from two sets down, Anderson is adamant his run to a first Wimbledon final proves he is getting closer to Grand Slam glory.
He says: “The main thing is if I look at the improvements I’m making, I feel like it’s getting better. I definitely believe I have the game to win these tournaments.
“If you asked me this time a year ago, I don’t think I could sit here and say I really believe that I can win a Grand Slam.
“I feel like I’m on a great path. I have a lot of belief I can put myself into another one of these matches, and hopefully have the result that I’m looking for.”
Anderson rose to a career-high fifth in the ATP rankings yesterday, capping a late-career surge that seemed impossible when he was ravaged by injuries two years ago.