Juan Martin Del Potro Vs Kevin Anderson; Semi-Final Preview – Erste Bank Open 2011
Erste Bank Open 2011 finished off with its round of 8 matches on Friday with Juan Martin Del Potro, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, Kevin Anderson and Daniel Brands making their into the semis stage to brawl out for the finals chair.
Del Potro, Argentine world No.15 is up to battle out the semis stage against South African world No.32, Anderson, at the Wiener Stadthalle, Vienna, Austria on Saturday, 29th of October 2011. Clashing out for the second
time head-to-head the two have been in perfect form lately.
The last match the two played was at the Delray Beach Int. Tennis Championship quarter-final round earlier this year on outdoor hard courts where the Argentine had an easy 6-4, 6-4 victory over the 25-year-old. However, both players
have had seven wins of their last 10 fixtures and on either on indoor or outdoor hard courts.
Comparatively, Anderson has been in a less competitive run. Playing most of the players below the top 10 rankings, the South African has less idea of how to counter a top ranked player. On the other hand, Del Potro is one of the
players this year that have ousted the world No.1, Novak Djokovic, and is much more capable to handle pressure games.
Potro’s playing style is a classic. Advantaging from his huge height, the Argentine is capable of serving at high speeds and with accuracy. His favourite shot, down-the-line forehand, is one of his major weapons while playing against
an agile competitor.
Capable of generating pace up to 100 mph, Potro drops down if ranked by agility. However, that is the only disadvantage the 23-year-old has. Other than that, the mighty Argentine can devastate any opponent regardless of their ranking.
Anderson, South African world No. 32, has been up an in great form this season. Ranked near to his highest ranking, that is world No.30, the 25-year-old dropped short against Gael Monfils at Stockholm and entered the Vienna Open.
With his clean sweeps in the first three matches, Anderson is positive to gain a win this time against the Argentine.
South African matches the qualities of his semis counterpart. Standing at 6’8”, Anderson also relies on heavy ground strokes and forehands. Slow but powerful is how he explains himself. Serving aces frequently is what wins the
25-year-old easy points.
Also the huge South African had a good sense of altering his shots. Mixing up volleys’ and net plays’ the former world No.30 counters his agility with magnificent cross-court shots. Considering his performance on hard indoor courts,
Anderson has won 41 and lost 25 altogether. Playing seven fixtures this season on indoor hard circuits, the right-hander has managed to win five and lost two.
However, considering the records, the pundits have their predictions on the world No.15. Del Potro is also the former world No.4 and is stronger playing the final stages of an event and also has made a staggering comeback this
season. Anderson, on the other hand, if comes up with consistency in his play, might as well get his spot fixed in the final round of the ATP World Tour 250 event.
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