Kevin Anderson in US Open semi-final
South Africa’s Kevin Anderson reaches his first-ever US Open Semi - Final after beating local favourite Sam Querrey 7-6, 6-7, 6-3, 7-6.
The last time a South African male made a semi-final in any Grand Slam was in 2003 when Wayne Ferreira reached the Australian Open last 4.
The last South African male to reach a Grand Slam final was Kevin Curren who lost to 17-year-old Boris Becker at Wimbledon in 1985.
Not surprisingly, the pair shared 42 aces between them (Anderson 22, Querrey 20) and three tie-breaks, with Anderson coming back from 2-5 down to win the first and 17th seed Querrey levelling in a thrilling second-set decider.
It was Anderson who prevailed in the third with a solitary break of serve, and he clinched victory after three hours and 26 minutes in another gripping tie-break.
.@KAndersonATP had some nice words for the fans that stayed late to watch the conclusion of his QF match...#USOpen pic.twitter.com/KCreUw6dZD
— US Open Tennis (@usopen) September 6, 2017
Next up for Anderson is 8th seed Pablo Carreno Busta who beat Argentine Diego Schwartzman 6-4 6-4 6-2.
"Incredible. It's something I always dreamed of," said Carreno Busta, 26.
"I tried to be focused all the time, play aggressive. I am very excited to be in the semi-finals."