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Ambitious Anderson Ready To Invade The Fed Rafa Echelon
15 Comments · Posted by Scoop Malinowski in Scoop
By Scoop Malinowski
Kevin Anderson dared to speak some bold words yesterday in Indian Wells. The South African actually believes he can play as well as Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal.
“Tennis is a process, I got things going last year in Paris, now I can put myself in the position of winning. My best game is just as good as Federer’s or Nadal’s, they just can play it more often than I do, but I feel I’m getting better at it,” the No. 9 player in the world stated.
Anderson is showing an aggressive, confident mindset declaring to the elite echelon that he feels ready to slay any dragon in his path, including Federer and Nadal.
It’s exactly what needs to be done. Anderson will never amount to anything if he is happy to play second banana to the top five for the rest of his career. To take the next steps up the rankings, the no. 7 seed at Indian Wells has to plant the seed of belief into everyone that he belongs at the top of the game. Anderson believes it and he’s not afraid to say it. He deserves a lot of credit for actually believing and publicly speaking what some will scoff as mere crazy talk.
While some may be offended by such courage and ambition, it’s absolutely imperative for Anderson to possess this belief. If Anderson is going to win a major he will need to overthrow Nadal and Federer.
By saying he feels he can play as great as Fed and Nadal and that he’s still getting better at mastering his game and maintaining consistency, Anderson is directly challenging Federer and Nadal and telling them bluntly he is coming to displace them from the top of the rankings.
It’s a breath of fresh air from all the niceties and cliches we constantly hear and read from ATP and WTA players.
It’s about time someone dared to step up to the plate and announce his bold intentions. Federer and Nadal will surely get the message and try to punch Anderson down the rankings. And so will a lot of other players who feel Anderson is getting a little too uppity and driving out of his lane.
You have to love what just happened with Kevin Anderson daring to say what every tennis player on earth wishes they had the guts to say. Anderson just shook up the tennis universe by declaring his bold goals and it will make things more interesting in the coming weeks and months.
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Chazz · March 8, 2018 at 11:20 am
Cringeworthy. Never liked him, like him even less now.
Scoop Malinowski · March 8, 2018 at 11:33 am
Chazz, I feel the opposite, I like that Anderson is taking the bull by the horns and speaking his bold intentions. Wish more players had the guts to do what Anderson just did. But now he has to put his words into action.
Chazz · March 8, 2018 at 11:39 am
I get why you like it. It’s just that he has no grounds for saying something like that. He’s not Cilic. Or Del Potro. He’s also 31, so the prime of his career is not going to last much longer.
Chazz · March 8, 2018 at 11:49 am
By the way Scoop, he’s a combined 0-9 against Fed/Rafa. I just don’t like it when athletes talk trash before they do anything. He’s a damn good player but his statement was idiocy.
Scoop Malinowski · March 8, 2018 at 12:08 pm
He’s also I believe 0-7 vs Del Potro. And 0-something vs Berdych. But things can change in a snap. I just played tennis with week with a guy who uses this gigantic Gamma racquet. Huge head. He said he was 0-50 vs this French Canadian before he used this Gamma. Then with the Gamma he finally beat the guy for the first time. He said with this new Gamma he got 7-8 feet more length in the crucial backhand to backhand rallies and it changed everything. Anything can happen if we experiment and try the right change.
Chazz · March 8, 2018 at 12:23 pm
Have to give credit to the guy you played tennis with that was 0-50 and kept playing someone. Most people give up after 5 or 10 losses or so.
Hartt · March 8, 2018 at 12:37 pm
I like Kevin Anderson well enough, and understand that to have a chance of winning you have to have the attitude that you can win, and not be cowed by whom you are facing.
But, that said, it is one thing to say that you can be competitive against players like Rafa and Fed and claiming that your game, at its best, is as good as theirs at their best. I am sorry, but Anderson, at his best, is not in the same league as Fed and Rafa. If he were, he would have better results overall. I think the USO final against Rafa was a good indication of their respective levels.
catherine · March 8, 2018 at 1:03 pm
Scoop – What’s this Gamma racquet ? Is there any rule on the size of racquets these days ?
The guy you mention beat his opponent because he was using a giant racquet, not because he was suddenly better.
I remember Nastase using a double strung racquet. This was quickly banned.
Scoop Malinowski · March 8, 2018 at 1:32 pm
Cathering it’s a Gamma big something. it’s a huge face. The first time I saw it this week I said, is that legal? Apparently it is. I tried it and couldn’t play it. You have to just push the shots, and the ball trampolines off the strings. If you swing a normal top spin stroke it goes out. He said you just have to push the ball. I played doubles with the guy and he barely missed, the Gamma gives him excellent touch and he controls it well. It’s a good choice for older smart players who play doubles. Not for high level singles players.
Duke Carnoustie · March 8, 2018 at 11:20 pm
100 percent laughable comments by Ando to compare himself with some all-time greats. Anybody remember his match vs. Fed in Cincinnati a few years ago? I have never seen a professional match so one-sided with a top-10 or top-15 player; I suppose Goffin over Berdych 0 and 0 is the best comparison.
Anybody can say anything. I can say that I can compete with Fed or knock out Mike Tyson in his prime but when it’s time to accomplish those things, can I really do that.
Anderson is a nice guy with a beautiful and intelligent wife but these comments are just silly. He isn’t on the same planet as Fed or Rafa.
Scoop Malinowski · March 9, 2018 at 7:59 am
I like that Anderson believes this Duke. He has taken his hidings from Fed and Rafa and knows what they have. And now he feels he’s ready to return the favor. Anderson is a smart player and he has proven he’s a top player by steadily rising up the rankings. He is where he is because of his self belief, not what the pundits or fans believe about him. Nobody ever predicted he could make a major final. Nobody ever predicted he’d be top ten. And so the only belief that matter is what Anderson believes. And he believes he can administer beatdowns on Fed and Rafa. I’d like to see it be done by Anderson, he’s paid his dues and suffered, now it’s his turn to have the last laugh.
Duke Carnoustie · March 9, 2018 at 1:19 pm
Scoop I believe I could have beaten up Mike Tyson in his prime. A shame the world didn’t get to see it, I would have knocked him out!
What do you think should happen with Alvarez? I think the fight should go on. Sounds like Golovkin wants out of the fight if you ask me.
Scoop Malinowski · March 9, 2018 at 4:00 pm
Canelo is another limited, overrated, protected cash cow. Golovkin is one of the all time greats but he’s 35 now and fading. I thought he held back in the first fight to serve the interests of the controllers of the protected fighter – to get the big money for fighting Canelo on Canelo’s handlers terms. In other words I think the fight was rigged to be a draw, to perserve the future money maker Canelo. Golovkin killed Canelo in sparring years ago and definitely does want to fight him again for far more money than he can make against anyone else. But of course the judges are all on Canelo’s side because Canelo is the long term money maker.
Duke Carnoustie · March 9, 2018 at 4:13 pm
What a mess though it seems like Golovkin is angling for something, probably a bigger cut and this whole situation plays into his hands of wanting more of Alvarez’s loot if they want this rematch to happen. Can’t say I blame him.
Scoop Malinowski · March 9, 2018 at 4:44 pm
Golovkin will fight him. Unlike the protected HWT fraud Wilder who ran for the hills when his challenger Povetkin supposedly tested positive for trace amounts of meldonium. VADA cleared Povetkin to fight because it was such a small trace but Wilder, who we knew didn’t want to fight Povetkin in Russia because his corrupt manager Al Haymon can’t rig Povetkin. So Wilder ducked Povetkin and went back to fighting only Haymon controlled opponents. Canelo ducked Golovkin for three years. I think all of Canelo’s fights look suspect. He draws a lot of Mexicans and excellent TV ratings so they just make sure he never loses. He lost to Mayweather but that was a thrown fight as Mayweather and Haymon rigged Canelo to play soft on Floyd for an extra $5m bonus. I got the inside info.