CAPE TOWN – World No 14 Kevin Anderson was made to work hard for his quarterfinal 6-7 (3) 6-4 6-2 win over Kazakhstan's Mikhail Kukushkin at the Tata Open Maharashtra 2018 in Pune, India, on Thursday afternoon.
The 74-world ranked Kukushkin surprised South Africa's Anderson at the start of their centre-court showdown by taking the first set with 7-3 tiebreak scoreline.
Anderson regrouped in the second set and with his booming serve in tow, he never looked back to finish off his opponent 150 minutes later after taking the last two sets 6-4 6-2. He sent down 24 aces in the match.
Anderson will play Frenchman Benoit Paire (world 41) in Friday's semifinal. Paire won his quarterfinal 6-0 6-3 against Marton Fucsovics (world 85) of Hungary.
The South African recently announced on social media that he will be working with new coach Brad Stine in 2018.
I‘m excited to tell you all that I am working with Brad Stine this year! We’ve had a great start already and he’ll be joining me in 2018 as my coach on tour as we work toward more great results. pic.twitter.com/bwSY9Rjh4y
— Kevin Anderson (@KAndersonATP) January 3, 2018