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In a continent seemingly dry of pros, Kevin Anderson is an example to follow

By Keshav Gopalan

LONDON, ENGLAND - JULY 15: Runner-up Kevin Anderson of South Africa waves to the crowd during the trophy presentation after the Men's Singles final against Novak Djokovic of Serbia on day thirteen of the Wimbledon Lawn Tennis Championships at All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club on July 15, 2018 in London, England. (Photo by Matthew Stockman/Getty Images)
LONDON, ENGLAND - JULY 15: Runner-up Kevin Anderson of South Africa waves to the crowd during the trophy presentation after the Men's Singles final against Novak Djokovic of Serbia on day thirteen of the Wimbledon Lawn Tennis Championships at All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club on July 15, 2018 in London, England. (Photo by Matthew Stockman/Getty Images) /
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Kevin Anderson made the final of Wimbledon, representing a continent that has never seen a big name in tennis for decades.

It was his second grand slam final and the first Wimbledon final for any man representing South Africa since 1921 when a dude nicknamed babe made the finals.

Yeah, really.

There are currently 17 players from Africa in the Top 1000. Kevin Anderson and Malek Jaziri are the only players in the top 100, representing South Africa and Tunisia, respectively. While Roger Federer is a dual citizen of both Switzerland and South Africa, Federer chooses to represent Switzerland and hence is not included in this list (apart from the fact that it’s obvious).

What about the others?

There have been several prominent players from Africa in the past. John Kriek won two titles in Australia while representing South Africa, while Kevin Curren made 2 slam finals (he represented the US in his second final). Wayne Ferreira is the most recent prominent player to have played as a top player, having reached #6 in the world.

But these are all South African players. Outside of South Africa, there hasn’t really been anyone prominent who has changed the situation of tennis in South Africa, except for perhaps Younes El Aynaoui from Morocco. He reached 14 in the world rankings, made four quarterfinal appearances, one of them being the infamous Andy Roddick encounter in which the final set went on till 21-19 in Roddick’s favour and also had this showreel incident.

Is he really?

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We don’t really know. While Anderson represents South Africa (and if he manages to win a slam he might be the best South African Tennis player to grace the sport), as far as we know, on a personal level, he hasn’t done anything for the development of the sport in Africa. Which is understandable as outside of South Africa, resources for tennis are extremely limited.

How is he an example?

Apart from the fact that he has now become an exemplary player with grand slam winning potential, his story of travelling to the US to play college tennis for the University of Illinois is definitely one way to do it, especially at a time where college players have been increasingly been transitioning to the tour very well (look at John Isner and Steve Johnson, both of whom played college tennis).

Next: Kevin Anderson jumps in ATP rankings

In a continent where resources for the sport is too little, this is perhaps one of the best ways to break into the world of tennis: College guarantees that if their tennis careers don’t take off, they have their lives set in other ways. In a country like South Africa where the resources are arguably the best, Anderson decided that it isn’t enough to become among the best, and it clearly worked. Maybe there is someone else out there who believes the same and is working towards a similar goal.

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