Three South African tennis players who come from quite diverse backgrounds, achieved so much in the space of a week at Wimbledon. Kevin Anderson ranked 5th in the world, did well to oust Roger Federer in the quarterfinals. He then had a marathon match against US player John Isner in a titanic over 6-hour battle, setting a new world record. He went on to meet Novak Djokovic in the final where he lost. Raven Klaasen and his New Zealand doubles partner Michael Venus, stormed into the final, playing U.S. partners Mike Bryan and Jack Sock to whom they were the runners-up.
Kgothatso Montjane is a wheelchair tennis player who according to journalist and photographer Cheryl Roberts, travelled alone to play her debut Wimbledon tournament and had to assemble her wheelchair alone. Voted South Africa’s Sports Woman of the Year with a Disability in 2011, it was her first time playing on grass. She won her debut match at #Wimbledon2018. Montjane who is the first black African women to compete at the most prestigous home of tennis, lost her semi-final match to world champion Diede De Groot of Netherlands.
Kevin Anderson might not have won the Wimbledon title, but his performances over the last 18 months have done a great job at raising the profile of the sport.
Before Kevin Anderson made the US Open final in 2017, most passive sports fans in South Africa probably hadn’t even heard of him. He’d won just a handful of ATP World Tour titles, lived on the other side of the world and hadn’t represented his country in the Davis Cup for years.
But that game slowly changed things. Anyone who hadn’t known of his existence has now.
This year, after dumping the great Roger Federer out of Wimbledon before clinging on for dear life in a semi-final marathon against John Isner, Anderson’s profile in South Africa arrived at its peak.
Few would have really believed that Anderson would overcome Novak Djokovic in the final, but he tried. The Serbian won relatively easily: 6-2, 6-2 and 7-6 (7/3).
At the end of it all, the knackered South African…
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