Results - Friday August 14, 2009

South Africans Surge

by Jeffrey Dunham
Aug 14, 11:04 pm EDT

Kevin Anderson

Seventh-seeded Kevin Anderson of South Africa advanced today at the LG&T Challenger when Lester Cook of the USA had to retire due to injury, trailing 6-2, 4-1. Anderson, 23, is ranked No. 149 and has been as high as No. 95 in June of 2008, the same year that he reached the final of The Tennis Channel Open in Las Vegas, losing to American Sam Querrey in three sets. Notably, Anderson had a win over Serbian world No. 4 Novak Djokovic last year at the Miami Masters event. More recently, he won the Challenger event in San Remo, Italy, reached the finals in Granby, Canada just last month, and won the doubles last week in Vancouver with his compatriot, Rik DeVoest.

Rik DeVoest

Meanwhile, DeVoest made quick work of Armenia’s Tigran Martirosyan. Lucky loser Martirosyan certainly made the most of his opportunity this week, as he has played mostly Futures events this year, reaching one semifinal and two quarterfinals. It was a strong effort for him to make it to the quarterfinals of the next level of professional tournaments. Today, his inconsistent second serve and erratic backhand created too many opportunities for DeVoest.

Tigran Martirosyan

The 29 year-old DeVoest’s ability to take the ball on the rise, while not Agassi-like, separates him from many of his opponents at this level. His doubles experience contributes to his quick reflexes and deft touch, allowing him to occasionally half-volley the ball from the baseline, robbing his big-swinging opponents of time.

DeVoest will play in the singles semifinals and the doubles final this year at the LG&T, where he may quite possibly be pitted against the player he was paired with last week in a winning combination, Kevin Anderson. Anderson, who has already booked his semifinal spot in singles, will play his doubles semifinal tomorrow with American partner Ryler DeHeart.