Kevin Anderson recovers from injury, expects to play a full schedule next season
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Kevin Anderson
After an on-off struggle with injuries for over 15 months, Kevin Anderson is finally confident that he has left bad times behind him.
The 34-year-old South American has had two surgical interventions within the past two years. However, since the pandemic break, he has gone on to play in six tournaments and is currently participating in his seventh. He will be looking to improve gradually back to his past form in the 2020 Rolex Paris Masters, starting with a first-round match against Serbian world no. 54 Laslo Djere.
Kevin Anderson: “I’ve set big goals for myself”
In an interview, Kevin talked about his recovery and proper comeback to the ATP Tour. He aims to play in a full schedule in 2021, though that remains to be seen and depends on his progress.
He said, “It’s an ongoing project given where I’m at, my age and everything, but I feel like my motivation and what I’m trying to still do in this sport, there’s still a lot that I want to accomplish. I need my knee to give me that opportunity for the next several years, so that’s how we go along each week. Obviously, health is the biggest priority right now, but the last couple of matches it’s felt really good so that’s a very good sign.”
The South African didn’t waste too much time dillydallying after the latest operation, instead spending it in training. He added, “I didn’t just take it easy and enjoy life away from the court. We were training. We somewhat reduced it at the beginning, just from a load management, but the whole team, the whole directive, is helping me to achieve my goals, which is to get back and go further than what I have accomplished already. I’ve set big goals for myself. It’s a process to get there, but my motivation is definitely as high as it’s ever been.”
His 2021 season will depend on his health, but he hopes well
Way back in March, during the start of the worldwide lockdown, Anderson was residing in Florida, USA. There, he could perform some training and fitness work in a makeshift gym that he had constructed in his garage.
He said, “Fortunately just where we were in Florida we were at least allowed to walk around in our neighborhood at certain times. I was able to go for a few runs here and there, though there was no tennis.”
He added that he soon got access to a tennis court too, adding to his preparations. He explained, “Then pretty early on, when things were lifted in Florida, a good friend of mine had a private court at his house, so we were out there for quite a long period of time. My whole team lives just 20 minutes from where I am. We’re all based locally, so it’s pretty easy to sort things out logistically.”
The two-time Grand Slam finalist still dreams to win one of the Grand Slams, making it one of his big goals. He remarked on his plans for 2021, saying that, “It’s dependent on my health and how things are going, but it would definitely be a full schedule.”
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