Tennis | SA Tennis

Kevin Anderson © Gallo Images

Anderson, Scheepers to lead lone charge



South Africa's top-ranked men's and women's players will lead a lone charge at the Australian Open which starts in Melbourne on Monday.

Rik de Voest bowed out in the final round of men's singles qualifying on Saturday, going down to Italian Matteo Viola.

The South African won the first set, but Viola hit back to secure a 4-6, 7-6, 6-4 victory.

Izak van der Merwe, Raven Klaasen and teenager Chanel Simmonds had all been knocked out in the first round of qualifying.

Only Kevin Anderson and Chanelle Scheepers, who were both automatically included in the main singles draw, remained from the SA contingent in the first Grand Slam of the year.

Anderson, the number 30 seed, will face qualifier Frederik Nielsen of Sweden in the opening round of the men's singles.

Scheepers was given a tough draw and will need to overcome former world No 2, Svetlana Kuznetsova of Russia, to progress beyond the first round.

Shop

Tennis - Know the game
Contains what you need to know about the sport, including equipment, rules, techniques and training tips
R97.95
Open: An Autobiography
He is one of the most beloved athletes in history and one of the most gifted men ever to step onto a tennis court -- but from early childhood Andre Agassi hated the...
R121.95
Tennis - Inside sport
A full-colour spectator's guide to sport. It offers an in-depth look at the sport, from its history and beginnings to the modern game, how it's played, who plays it...
R189.95
A handful of Summers
A handful of Summers is a delightfully uninhibited insider's account of what it was like playing tennis on the international circuit in the 1950s and 1960s – both...
R126.95


Comments

More expert analysis and opinion from Sport24
The opinions expressed by Sport24 experts and bloggers are theirs alone, and do not necessarily represent those of SuperSport

Sports Talk



Tennis guest
Djokovic dominates, Federer finishes strong
Novak Djokovic ruled the first nine months of the tennis season while longtime dominator Roger...

Haze's Comment
New York conversation
Some of the sporting world’s most brilliant performers are inflicted by a worrying malaise that...