Kevin Anderson, South African, reached the Wimbledon Finals in a marathon match against John Isner. Today, (July 15), he will face off against Novak Djokovic hoping to win his first Grand Slam Championship. Writing for Tennis World, Dzevad Mesic has predicted the obvious winner to be Novak Djokovic. But an old report from the same writer, in March this year, noted that Anderson did beat Novak Djokovic in 2008. The South African player beat him in the Miami Open in Florida in a match that "surprised the Serb." That was ten years back, and he's not looking like the same player right now.

Anderson took down Roger Federer and John Isner in the Wimbledon 2018 tournament. This is his chance for glory in a sport that he started playing when he was just six-years-old.

Kevin Anderson first turned up in ATP ranking in 2003

Kevin Anderson showed up on the ATP rankings at 1178 at the age of 17. Over the next ten years, he climbed his way slowly but steadily up the ladder. His career was not one of instant brilliance that caught any major headlines. As evidenced by the six-and-a-half hour slog against John Isner in this year's Wimbledon semi-finals, he has a steady determination to keep going. But, as Mesic mentioned, "Djokovic is also a better returner than Federer or Isner, which could make life tough for the South African, who relies especially heavily on his serve on grass."

The odds favor Djokovic as the winner of this tournament, and he has taken the title before.

Along the way, he managed to beat the South African at Wimbledon twice. The 2015 clash was a slogger though and was described as by Steve Tignor on Tennis.com as "Djokovic wriggled his way through, 7-5, in the fifth set."

Anderson's ATP performance in 2018

Kevin's performance in 2018 saw him get to a number of quarter and semi-finals.

The ATP World Tour Website confirms that he took the top prize after beating Sam Querry in the finals of the New York Open, an ATP World Tour 250 event. At this year's, Madrid Open, he reached the semi-finals, where he was knocked out by Dominic Thiem. The Miami Open in April saw him lose in the quarter-finals, as did the Indian Wells tournament the month before that.

February saw him in the finals at Acapulco, Mexico, losing to del Potro. But in January at the Melbourne, Australia tournament, Kyle Edmund, beat him in the Round of 128.

More about Kevin Anderson, the finals player at Wimbledon 2018

Kevin was born in South Africa and at school showed an aptitude for running. It's almost a pity that he is not facing off against Rafael Nadal who lost to Djokovic in the Wimbledon finals. Incidentally, he and Nadal played against each other since they were little kids, the Metro noted. Last year, his wife posted up the cutest photo of the two boys posing together.

The BBC shared a few other things from Anderson's wife, Kelsey, that you may not have known before.

In a video July 13, she said that Kevin is a guitar player and only started learning a few years ago. It's his favorite hobby and he's "completely obsessed." He is crazy about dogs and adopted one that's got a loving family now. The couple enjoy going to musicals and in fact, they want to take something in while they are in London, after the tournament.

Other background stuff available at the ATP website includes the fact that he played at the University of Illinois for 3 seasons, getting All-Amercian honors.

He is also an adrenaline junkie who loves the outdoors and motorsports. No doubt, South Africans across the world will be glued to their screens to watch and 'will' Kevin Anderson on and upward, as he fights for a major title against Djokovic in the Wimbledon 2018 finals.
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