Former Rogers Cup quarterfinalist Kevin Anderson got his 2016 campaign underway in Toronto on Monday with a straight-sets win over Viktor Troicki. The towering South African had some moments of inconsistency in the opening frame but settled in to overpower his Serbian opponent, eventually claiming a 7-6(4), 6-3 victory to reach the second round.
Back-and-forth battle goes to Anderson
Both men came out swinging in the early games, using their big serves and powerful strokes to hold serve with relative ease through the first four games. Anderson would be the first to get a foot into a return game, racing ahead to a 0-40 lead in the fifth game and converting his first break point for the early lead. But the momentum would swing away from the South African almost immediately, as he would lose ten straight points starting on his own serve which resulted in a break to love. He finally stopped the run after his 3-2 lead became a 3-4, 0-30 deficit. He would bounce back to hold.
After the wild middle of the set, both men settled back in and held their remaining service games, sending the set to a tiebreak. In the breaker, it was Troicki getting the early advantage as Anderson would shank a forehand on his first service point to give the minibreak to the Serbian. However, Troicki would give it right back two points later when he double faulted to level the break at 2-2 before missing a backhand to give his opponent the lead. The back-and-forth breaker continued when Troicki miraculously won a titanic rally with a sprawling passing shot winner. But after levelling at 4-4, Anderson would rip a forehand winner down the line and never looked back, winning both his service points to take the tiebreak 7-4.
Early break sends Anderson through
The momentum seemed to be firmly in the 2014 quarterfinalists corner to start the second set as he found himself at break point in the second game. At 30-40, Anderson drove a deep return into the feet of Troicki which the Serb blocked long to give the South African an early 2-0 lead. That would prove to be all Anderson needed, as he dominated his remaining service games, not allowing Troicki a single break point opportunity in the second set and only losing two points on his first serve in the second, cruising to victory in an hour and 28 minutes.
By the numbers
Both men were strong on serve in this match, each limiting their opponent to two break points. The difference ending up being conversions, as Anderson converted both of his break points while Troicki only managed one. The 6’8 South African used his serve to great effect, pounding nine aces and winning 85 percent of his first serve points, only losing five points on his first serve in the entire match. Troicki was solid, hitting five aces and winning 77 percent of his first serve points, but he only managed 44 percent of his seconds which proved very costly.
Anderson goes on to play sixth seed Dominic Thiem in the second round.