Anderson beats Herbert to win third ATP title
ByReuters
Updated 29/08/2015 at 22:14 GMT
Second seed Kevin Anderson used his powerful serve to end the unlikely run of qualifier Pierre-Hugues Herbert with a 6-4 7-5 victory in the final of the Winston-Salem Open on Saturday.
Kevin Anderson (left) of South Africa and Pierre-Hugues Herbert of France pose with the trophy after men's final match of the Winston-Salem Open at Wake Forest University on August 29, 2015 in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Anderson won the match in stra
Image credit: AFP
One break in each set was enough for Anderson as the South African clinched the third ATP title of his career and ended a streak of losing seven straight finals.
The tall South African was broken only once in the entire tournament at Wake Forest University in a promising tune-up for the U.S. Open which starts on Monday.
Anderson, 29, has a mediocre record at Flushing Meadows, where he has never made it to the round of 16.
He was in danger of dropping serve against Herbert only once, in the fourth game of the second set, but saved four break points.
Herbert, ranked 140th in the world, was outclassed in the first set but played much better in the second set before dropping serve at 5-5.
That was the only opening world number 15 Anderson needed to close out the Frenchman.
Had Herbert won, he would have been the first player since 1996 to win an ATP event after playing nine matches.
The 24-year-old survived three rounds of qualifying just to make the main draw.
"I had an incredible week," said Herbert, who will meet 23rd seed Roberto Bautista Agut of Spain in the first round at the U.S. Open.
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