JOHANNESBURG - South Africa’s Kevin Anderson blew a two-set lead as American Taylor Fritz won 4-6 6-7 7-6 6-2 6-2 in the second round of the Australian Open in Melbourne on Thursday.
The 33-year-old Anderson had an injury plagued 2019, and his return to the Majors was short-lived.
The normally dominant serve of the 2.03m tall Anderson fell away after racing to a two set lead.
At the end of the match his second serve win percentage sat at 39 percent. And while he delivered more winners than the 22-year-old Fritiz - 65 to 55 - it was the unforced error count that cost Anderson dearly.
Anderson made 54 unforced errors in the contest, exactly double of the 27 the fired-up Fritz in a match that lasted three hours and 21 minutes.
C-O-M-E-B-A-C-K 💪
Down and out, @Taylor_Fritz97 finds a way to overcome Kevin Anderson 4-6 6-7(5) 7-6(4) 6-2 6-2 to equal his best Grand Slam performance. #AO2020| #AusOpen pic.twitter.com/0yIqoXXHiE
— #AusOpen (@AustralianOpen) January 23, 2020