Winston-Salem Tennis Recap: Kevin Anderson, Pierre-Hugues Herbert go into U.S. Open with momentum – By Ricky Dimon

Written by: Staff on 29th August 2015

Winston-Salem Tennis Recap: Kevin Anderson, Pierre-Hugues Herbert go into U.S. Open with momentum - By Ricky Dimon |

Nine matches in eight days were one too many for Pierre-Hugues Herbert. Seven consecutive losses in ATP finals were more than enough for Kevin Anderson.

Anderson captured his third career title and ended his streak of final futility by beating Herbert 6-3, 7-5 at the Winston-Salem Open on Saturday afternoon. The second-seeded South African served at 71 percent and fired 16 aces to triumph after one hour and 32 minutes.

“I’ve been in a few finals and come up short, which is always tough,” Anderson commented after securing his first title since Delray Beach in 2012. “Each final is a different situation, and for some reason it just hadn’t happened for me. Someone has to win and someone has to lose.“Maybe it’s a bit of an added pressure to be the favorite coming into the final, but [Herbert] has been playing great to get here. In my mind we were completely even before the match.”

“I came here to play some matches, but I didn’t expect to play that much,” said Herbert, had to qualify just to get into the main draw. “I’m really happy since it’s the best result of my career. There are no regrets because I think I played a good final, but [Anderson] was better and more experienced today.”

Hebert has to play again on Monday at the U.S. Open, where he will face Roberto Bautista Agut. Anderson, on the other side of the draw, will square off against qualifier Andrey Rublev on Tuesday.

Steve Johnson also enjoyed a productive week in Winston-Salem. He benefited from some luck, as well, in that quarterfinal opponent Yen-Hsun Lu withdrew prior to their showdown because of a back injury. Johnson eventually lost to Herbert in a three-set semi.

The former University of Southern California standout will go up against Fabio Fognini during first-round action at Flushing Meadows.

Malek Jaziri rounded out a somewhat surprising semifinal lineup at the North Carolina-based 250-point tournament. Jaziri’s run included defeats of Joao Souza, Viktor Troicki, Teymuraz Gabashvili, and Thomaz Bellucci.

The Tunisian is set for a tough first-rounder in New York versus John Isner.

Ricky contributes to 10sballs.com and also maintains his own tennis website, The Grandstand.

Topics: Atp, Kevin Anderson, Pierre-Hugues Herber, Ricky Dimon, Sports, Tennis News, US Open, Winston Salem Open

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10sBalls_com says:

August 29, 2015 at 7:32 pm

@WSOpen #Tennis Recap: @kevinanderson18 , Pierre-Hugues Herbert go into @usopen with momentum – By @Dimonator http://t.co/AQFOOhAnLt
Dimonator says:

August 29, 2015 at 7:57 pm

RT @10sBalls_com: @WSOpen #Tennis Recap: @kevinanderson18 , Pierre-Hugues Herbert go into @usopen with momentum – By @Dimonator http://t.c…