South Africa’s Anderson wins Delray Beach title

Seventh seed Kevin Anderson defeated qualifier Marinko Matosevic 6-4, 7-6(2) at the Delray Beach International Tennis Championships Sunday to win his second career title.

Though Anderson was unable to capitalise on any of his eight break point opportunities in the second set, he took command of the tie-break to seal the win in one hour and 58 minutes. “Both of us were a little nervous at the start of match, so I had to find my rhythm,” said Anderson. “I think at the end, I felt I was mentally composed throughout [the tournament]. I didn’t let any patches of bad tennis affect my mindset [this week].”

Anderson improved to 2-1 in title matches, adding to his victory on home soil in Johannesburg (d. Devvarman) last year. The South African has a 10-4 record this season. “It feels fantastic. It’s my first one in the United States, which is great,” Anderson said. “I feel apart from South Africa, this is my new home. My wife Kelsey was here for the weekend.”

Matosevic was contesting his first ATP World Tour final. The 173rd-ranked Australian was bidding to become the second qualifier to finish in the winner’s circle in 2012, with Jarkko Nieminen achieving the feat at the Apia International Sydney in January. “My energy levels were pretty low,” said Matosevic. “I just couldn’t serve well today, but credit to Kevin. He was the better player today.

“I’ve been training really hard. People have been telling me hard work pays off, and I guess in some small way, a little bit paid off this week. Before the week, if you told me that I’d make the final, I’d be the happiest guy in the world. Then when you get there and you play the match, I feel like I was just a few points from winning the match or turning the match, but I just couldn’t do it. It can only help me I guess.”

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