Anderson eases SA into lead

2008-07-18 15:48

Johannesburg - Admitting to a degree of nervousness afterwards in the cold, blustery conditions, Kevin Anderson eased South Africa into a 1-0 lead in the Euro-Africa Group 2 Davis Cup tie against Denmark at Emperors Palace on Friday while beating Martin Pedersen 7-6 (7-5) 7-5 6-2.

It was, however, an unexpectedly sterner test for South Africa's number one than the final scoreline suggests, with the 675th-ranked Pedersen only succumbing in the evenly-contested opening two sets through costly double faults at critical moments.

"I guess the area of greater consistency is the one in which I must improve my game," said the red-headed Dane, whose appearance on the court suggested a cross between tennis greats Jim Courier and Boris Becker.

In spite of this shortcoming, Pedersen belied his ranking and looked a player of undoubted talent - emphasizing, at the same time, the exceptional depth on the international tennis circuit.

The players traded service games without any undue trouble until 6-6 in the first set, with Pedersen's double-fault bogey making the difference in the tiebreaker - which the two-metre tall South African rounded off with a booming ace.

Anderson held a 5-3, 30-0 lead in the second set - only to create a mini-crisis for himself by serving successive double-faults.

However, Pedersen faltered again at 5-5 with another double-fault of his own and eventually lost the second set as a consequence.

Although Anderson ultimately won the third set comfortably enough with two service breaks, it needed his best volley of the game to prevent Pedersen breaking back to 2-2 - with the Dane's resistance seemingly shattered by this sensational shot.

- SAPA