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Kevin Anderson will look to become the first South African in 12 years to make a semi-final at a Grand Slam when he takes on Stan Wawrinka in the quarters of the US Open. Join The Roar for live scores of the match from 4am AEST.
Not since Wayne Ferreira, at the 2003 Australian Open, has a South African progressed to the final four of a Grand Slam event.
Kevin Anderson has that chance this morning when he takes on Stan Wawrinka.
Last round, against Andy Murray, Anderson would upset the world number 3 to make his first quarter final. It would be his first win in the fourth round in eight attempts.
Now he faces Stan Wawrinka for a chance to break the drought for South Africa.
Wawrinka has cruised into the quarters, losing just one set in the first four matches. He also hasn’t faced a player ranked inside the top 50 in the event so far.
This has allowed him to save plenty of energy, but it also hasn’t really tested the French Open champion.
This is the eighth meeting between the two, with Anderson winning the last four matches.
Wawrinka won the first three from 2010-2013.
Since 2014 though, the South African has dominated, winning all matches in the last 21 months.
This includes a 7-6 7-6 win at Queen’s this year.
Tiebreakers have been a theme with at least one in the last five matches. With both players good on their serve, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see a couple more in this contest.
Anderson’s focus will be on his serve, and getting many sets to tiebreakers. He is 5-2 in tiebreaker sets between the two. In normal sets, Wawrinka leads 7-5.
The focus for Wawrinka will be on making his opponent move during the rallies. His backhand will need to be hitting plenty of winners, to put the serve of Anderson under pressure.
Wawrinka also needs to serve well to capitalise on any chances he is given.
This promises to be a close contest, dictated by the serve of both players. While Anderson has the recent form against Wawrinka, the Swiss star will start as the favourite. He also has experience at this level.
When it becomes close, that will come to the fore.
Prediction: Wawrinka 3-1
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