	products recent interviews FastScripts archive about ASAP Sports

Our Clients:

Browse by Sport

Find us on

Subscribe to RSS

Click to go to
Asaptext.com

View our
e-Brochure

ROGERS CUP MEN

August 9, 2011

Kevin Anderson

MONTREAL, QUEBEC

K. ANDERSON/A. Murray
6-3, 6-1

THE MODERATOR: Questions for Kevin.

Q. One of the biggest wins of your career?
KEVIN ANDERSON: Definitely. I've played him a couple years back and he beat me pretty bad. I knew I what I had to do today. I thought I came out and played really well, played the way I wanted to play.
Yeah, it feels great obviously. He's a great player. He's had a very good career. Yeah, definitely very pleased to get the win today.

Q. Anything different that you tried to beat such a top-level player?
KEVIN ANDERSON: I definitely started to play more people, you know, at the top of tennis. I definitely feel a lot more comfortable going out there. I mean, today I knew I had to be very aggressive. I just had to execute.
I mean, I either win the match or lose the match, but at least play the way I wanted to play. I was able to really execute well. I can't really speak for how he played, how he felt. But definitely from my side, I felt I played a very good match today.

Q. What do you think they'll make of the match in your homeland?
KEVIN ANDERSON: Yeah, great. It was shown on TV. My parents and some friends watching. Hopefully it was a good match to watch.

Q. What time is it there?
KEVIN ANDERSON: Six hours in front of us, so most people were able to watch.

Q. Knowing that Andy Murray is so good on hard court, how would you measure yourself compared to him?
KEVIN ANDERSON: Well, yeah, I definitely would say hard court is my favorite surface as well. In South Africa, that's all we have. That's what I grew up on. A vast percentage of my time playing tennis has been on hard courts.
I really enjoy playing in the States. I like the way these kind of courts play. Especially when the weather is warmer, the ball bounces up a bit. I feel this surface suits me very well.

Q. Was the weather a factor today at all?
KEVIN ANDERSON: No, I don't think it was a factor. At least physically, it didn't take its toll. Coming from some other tournaments like Atlanta and Washington, it was definitely a lot hotter there. It was still warm enough that the balls were bouncing up nicely. I think it was definitely great playing conditions.

Q. Did you find the balls getting heavy at all?
KEVIN ANDERSON: Not so much. Maybe in the beginning, there were a few extended rallies, and the balls were wearing out a bit. I think overall they were playing pretty lively.

Q. Where were your parents and family watching the match?
KEVIN ANDERSON: Just at home in Jo-burg.

Q. One of the things fans wonder about, even when you played a guy like that before, once the match starts, does the name factor go away?
KEVIN ANDERSON: I think that's probably one of the biggest things, you know, a lot of players have to deal with when you're playing the big names of our sport. You really have to try your best to put that, you know, outside of your thoughts and really just treat it as another tennis match. It's definitely tougher said than done.
Going out there, I felt excited and ready for a challenge. Even keeping up the whole time, you know, even though he might not have been playing his best, putting away somebody like that also is pretty tough.
I was able to keep my focus. Had one tricky service game in the second set. From there, I thought I was able to wrap things up well.

Q. The fact you've been playing a couple weeks on this surface, had a match yesterday, do you think that was a bit of an advantage for you?
KEVIN ANDERSON: Yeah, it's always tough to say. I've been in a position these last couple weeks where I've had a bye in the first round and played some guys who have already got a match under their belt.
I mean, it definitely has its advantages. I would think he's pretty used to that, though. I think he's had some extended breaks before. As I said, I can't really say. But a lot of those top guys, I find definitely the way they're able to take time off and come back and play, it's not easy to do. Definitely I think that's pretty impressive.

Q. Talk a little bit about winning in Johannesburg this year. Is this what you were hoping for, a breakout season for yourself?
KEVIN ANDERSON: Yeah, definitely had some very good positives this year. I think winning my first title in Jo-burg was probably the highlight. It was great to be back. I hadn't played in South Africa in quite some time. To bring tennis back to South Africa, to be able to win that tournament, was very special.
Yeah, I really like this time of the year. My last few tournaments haven't been exactly what I've been looking for. But so far this week's going very well. Obviously, today was a very big win for me.

Q. Going back to Murray. How surprised were you with how he played today?
KEVIN ANDERSON: Yeah, it was probably not exactly what I was expecting. At the same time I think some of the way I played, the way I served today, I think I did make it pretty tough for him. I felt I came forward very well. My game moving forward, I executed very well.
Yeah, the challenge is beating those guys more often. I have to do that I think for a longer period of time. He definitely gave me a few free points here and there, but it's always tough putting away opponents, especially when they're as good as him.
I try to think away from it, just play one game at a time. Really focused on taking care of my service games. On his service, I felt like I was getting some good looks on some returns. Just kept on fighting, just kept on trying to stick with what was working.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

ASAP Sports, Inc. | T: 1.212 385 0297