Kevin Anderson earned a sensational win over third-seeded Andy Murray on the eighth day of the U.S. Open. Murray, the 2012 champion, had been considered as one of the main contenders for the title since he is enjoying one of the best seasons of his career—reaching at least the semifinals of the first three Grand Slam tournaments. Thus the experts, who give predictions and picks for tennis events, had only one question before this match in the round of sixteen: will Anderson be able to win even one set against favored Brit?
Predicting results of sporting events, analysts and bookmakers always evaluate the level of players’ motivation. Murray is in the Big Four of main contenders for Grand Slam titles. Slams are obviously a priority for the world No. 3, making a win over Anderson all the more expected in this kind of tournament.
Numerous services, such as Bet4Rate and The Grandstand had pointed out rightly that Murray is one of the best returners on tour and thus should have managed to deal with Anderson’s strong serve. In addition, the two players had faced each other twice in 2015 on fast surfaces (grass and hard)—favorable for Anderson—but Murray prevailed both times. That’s why it is not surprising that bookmakers set high odds from 6.00 to 7.00 for Anderson to pull off an upset on Monday.
There is popular opinion that the South African played one of the best matches of his career. Murray’s tactics failed more often than not and he seemed to lack confidence despite having far more experience than his opponent in the second week of Grand Slams. The two-time major champion stuck to a defensive style most of the time, expecting Anderson to make unforced errors. But that didn’t happen and relying on defense wasn’t enough. Anderson may have made more errors but he earned more points with attacking actions and was more confident during crucial moments of the match.
In his post-match interview, Murray claimed that the scenario of the clash could have changed easily in several rallies, but Anderson never wavered—especially not on serve. The world No. 14, meanwhile, said past head-to-head experiences against Murray helped him get the job done for the second time in seven tries. Anderson assured that he worked hard with his coach to be well-prepared for the match and also attributed his success to visits with a sports psychologist in order to stay focused.
The 15th seed eventually lost to French Open champion Stan Wawrinka in the U.S. Open quarterfinals. Nonetheless, Anderson will climb to a career-high ranking of at least No. 13 and he has proven that he can battle the top players in the world.
