By Richard Pagliaro | Sunday, November 11, 2018
Kevin Anderson blasted 13 aces and permitted just four points on first serve defeating Dominic Thiem, 6-3, 7-6 (10) in his Nitto ATP Finals debut in London.
Photo credit: Rob Newall/CameraSport
Kevin Anderson conceded he wasn't quite sure what to expect in his Nitto ATP Finals debut.
The 32-year-old South African answered uncertainty imposing his first serve as the last word.
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Anderson blasted 13 aces and permitted just four points on first serve defeating Dominic Thiem, 6-3, 7-6 (10) in the opening match of Lleyton Hewitt Group play in the season-ending, round-robin event at the O2 Arena in London.
On his fourth match point, Anderson threw down his 13th ace, closing a one-hour, 48-minute victory with three aces in hs final four service points.
It was Anderson's seventh win in nine meetings with the hard-hitting Austrian as the sixth-ranked South African avenged a straight-sets loss to Thiem at the US Open in September.
Four months after Anderson fought off Roger Federer and John Isner in successive marathon matches to reach his first Wimbledon final, the big man was in no mood to go the distance today.
Detonating declarative serves that bounded off the back walls of the O2 Arena with ominous thuds, Anderson won 40 of 44 points played on his first serve and did not face a break point in the match.
Knifing a high backhand volley helped the 6'8" South African seal a one-set lead.
Thiem served with more authority in the second set and protected his second serve with vigor.
Often when Thiem tried to step in and attack Anderson's second serve, the big man ripped biting body serves. Anderson held at 15 to force the tie break.
Anderson earned his first match point at 6-5 in the breaker, but Thiem saved it with a searing body serve. Anderson returned the favor fighting off a set point with a body serve for 7-all.
On the second match point, Thiem showed dazzling athleticism finding the line with a diagonal forehand then sliding into a two-handed drop-volley winner. Anderson saved a second point with his 11th ace then slid an ace down the middle for a third match point.
Thiem answered with an ace for 10-all.
Bold shotmaking put Anderson over the finish line.
A sensational running forehand strike down the line brought him a fourth match point and Anderson closed with an ace, raising his 2018 record to 46-17.
The lanky South African scores his seventh victory in his last eight matches, including winning his second title of the season in Vienna last month. The road to Saturday's semifinals gets even tougher as Anderson still has round-robin matches vs. Federer and Nishikori, whom he beat in the Vienna final, ahead.
The second-seeded Federer, who fell to David Goffin in the 2017 semifinals, plays Nishikori in tonight's second round-robin match.