Fortunately, the way I play tennis, I don't have to spend too much time analyzing or worrying about my opponents. I typically try to focus on my own game, and I know if I do that and execute, I can beat anyone.
— Kevin Anderson
2015 was obviously a great year. I achieved a few of my long-standing goals, which is very rewarding. I'm still working hard to achieve some of my other goals, like reaching the top 5 in the world rankings and qualifying for the World Tour Finals.
I actually tried quite a few racquets in college before I turned pro.
South Africa is a very pro-sporting country.
I try and focus on the youth coming up, and I think tennis is a great sport regardless of how far you make it: just, obviously, a lot of good life lessons.
I think what's really important from a player is to understand what you did well in that match and see maybe if there's a few areas that you could have done a little bit better, identify them, try to implement it, and keep getting better as the tournament goes on.
There are a lot of men playing great tennis well into their thirties.
In a sport that's as close as tennis, I feel like anything that you can do to give yourself an edge is definitely worth doing.
As always, I keep my head up, look objectively at all the matches I played, see where I can improve, bits and pieces, and, you know, get ready as quick as I can.
When a match doesn't go your way, people tend to take to social media and just say very inappropriate things.
It started with my parents, my dad who taught me growing up, my brother who played as well. I spent a lot of time with him. Then, getting into the pro side, there have been a lot of people who have worked with me along the years.
I am definitely very excited to continue, and even though I will be turning 32 next year, I feel I am playing my best tennis, and I definitely feel my best results are still ahead of me.
If you try to simplify it as much as possible, I guess you could say if a guy who is my size can move around the same as a guy who is much smaller, you would think there are maybe going to be a few more advantages.
I generally don't look at the draw. Next match.
Beating Roger Federer is a match I will remember for years to come. All my respect to him. Federer is arguably the greatest player to have ever played our sport, so beating him at Wimbledon was really special.
Something I worked very hard on, especially last year, was being more outgoing on the court: recognising good points I'd played and trusting myself and my skills on the court. The fist pumps weren't necessarily to let my opponent know I was here, more to let myself know that I'm here.
I've made two finals, and I'm up against guys who have won over 30 grand slams between them. But it's been great for the sport. You have to figure it out. Wishing for something else is futile.
Height is a funny thing in tennis because it definitely helps the serve, but it can hinder agility and movement. I think I have to spend a lot more time working on movement and flexibility than some of my shorter colleagues.
Some players are constantly changing racquets, fiddling with them. It's not that I'm not specific with my racquets, but I feel that I'm not as obsessed with some of that stuff as many of the other players are.
Sometimes in a match, when things get tight, you want to feel like you can swing out on the ball and still have control.
It's funny because, growing up, I found inspiration from watching Steffi Graf and Amanda Coetzer, a South African who was in the top 10 for many years. Oh, and then there's someone I've gotten to know over the last few years: Martina Navratilova.
Any match you face, you know, you can be nervous.
Most of the time, I'm playing right-handed players, so it's a little easier to adjust going back to a righty.
I watched a documentary called 'Plastic Oceans' on Netflix, and it was an eye-opener for me.
I think a lot of people fail to work on their sight, even though it's probably one of the most important sides to tennis. It's also about reactions and concentration and focus, and I think it's all very closely related.
I think a lot of success I have had in the past is I have been able to work points, find the right time to come forward.
Of course, on the road with me, I've got my coach, my own private physiotherapist. Back home, I have another coach who coaches me and also does all my racquets. I have a fitness trainer. I have a mental coach. It's a pretty big team.
Especially at Indian Wells, Miami, the hard courts are what I grew up on, so I'm probably most used to it.
No. 1 is definitely staying healthy. That is always going to be the biggest priority. I think when I am healthy, it gives me the opportunity to go out there and play the tennis I know that I can play.
For me myself, I feel it's always interesting gathering data. I have my team who do that. I think they feed me through specific things that I might find valuable.
There haven't been that many players, both men and women, from South Africa breaking through on the pro level. It's not easy because you have to really start playing tennis at a young age and be exposed to the right competitions and other players from around the world.
There are so many positives and great memories I will take with me from Wimbledon 2018. It was always part of the dream to play in a Wimbledon final. It means so much for me to have played in the championship match.
To make physical gains, you would go to the gym and lift weights. It's the same for the mental side. The work you put in on the mental side needs the same dedication as the physical side.
Changing public perceptions is important. Nobody bats an eyelid in a team sport when a player gets injured and is still getting paid. In tennis, there is nothing like that.
By giving myself the freedom to lose, I actually began to play much better.
With all the lead tape, my racquet is heavier than the model you're going to find off the rack. It's got most of its weight in the throat of the racquet; it's not too head-heavy. I don't like the feeling of a racquet that's so head-heavy I can't maneuver it around so well.
A lot of guys sometimes, you know, you might see them get angry at a line call, and suddenly they start playing better tennis.
The more mental strength you have, the better. If you look at some of the best players that we have seen over the years and that I have been playing with, mentally they are the best competitors as well, something I have worked hard on.
Coming from a country that loves tennis, actually, there are a lot of people who play. We definitely face a lot of challenges when it comes to producing tennis players.
If you're serving, you still have to be prepared in a regular game, but especially when it comes to the tiebreaks. They can change on one or two points.
Growing up, I did quite a bit of reading on the mental side. My dad, who coached me, had us doing a lot of different types of mental work, like visualization. I read a couple of tennis books that talked about calming your nerves, belief, visualization, relaxing, breathing.
Sometimes I use a bungee, one of those bungee cords that offer resistance training. I find that useful. Like, I'll go out and hit a backhand or a forehand with resistance. Because when you get rid of the resistance, you've recruited more muscle fibers, and it definitely helps with speed.
Tennis is a big sport when it comes to betting. Obviously, we as a sport try incredibly hard to keep it clean, and I think we do a very good job with that.
I've had my wife traveling with me full time for four or five years, which has been huge for me, and we have our dog traveling with me as well, which I think is a really important part. We do travel so much, and we're away from home so often, it makes it feel like it's home a little bit, too.
If you go out there with doubts or unsure what's going to happen, it's not going to go your way.
Once our season finishes in November, a lot of players maybe take a couple of weeks off and start training for the next year. You often usually have only a little time to work on your game and stuff.
Tennis is interesting. I feel, in terms of stats and stuff, maybe we're a little bit behind the curve, especially me just coming to the States and seeing stats used for, obviously, NFL, NBA, et cetera. Especially in baseball, there's stats galore.
The work I do with my physiotherapist has been instrumental in keeping me healthy, and it's a big reason why I'm able to continue to improve my game.
One of the biggest things I've worked on is how to play my best tennis every single time I walk on to the court.
Even though I'm 32, I feel like I'm playing my best-ever tennis and like the best years are ahead of me.
