The Role Federer Played In Anderson's Return

Andrew Eichenholz/ATP Tour

Kevin Anderson will make his return to singles action on Tuesday at the Infosys Hall of Fame Open in Newport. The South African revealed on Monday evening after his doubles loss alongside Ethan Quinn that a factor in his decision to return from retirement was a visit from Roger Federer.

A couple of months ago, Anderson and a friend enjoyed a casual hit at a local club in Delray Beach. They simply wanted to play tennis and it was the former World No. 5’s first day back on court in about nine months, he said. Coincidentally, Federer was in town visiting his agent Tony Godsick, whose son Nicholas Godsick is a top junior player. The Swiss icon stopped by.

“I was hitting, just me and [my friend] just up and down the middle. And I was like, ‘Man, I'm feeling great,’” Anderson told ATPTour.com. “And at the end of practice, Roger Federer was actually in town, visiting. He came out to the courts and it was really a pretty profound experience. For me, I feel like looking back at my career, I was always pretty intimidated by some of the top guys.

“I think coming from South Africa and not really being exposed to some of the best players in the world, I always was a little bit intimidated. And it was really interesting, because, in the first few minutes of our conversation, I felt that same sort of uneasiness, I felt very shifty.”

In that moment, Anderson decided that was not the sensation he was supposed to be having. Always known as one of the most professional, diligent players on the ATP Tour, the South African had often found himself not fully enjoying similar moments.

“I kind of made a concerted effort to change that and things like that. You don't really know what's going to come your way, and that has really been a big learning experience for me,” Anderson said. “Had I been able to do [my career] over, I probably would have not spent maybe as many hours on myself in the practice court, but interacting or putting myself in situations. I ended up having a great conversation with Roger and for the first time, I felt just really at ease and [was] having a normal conversation.

“It was fascinating listening to him, arguably the best player of all time in terms of his ball striking, and just hearing the insights he had. It was a really cool experience. I didn't really put that together [in terms of coming back]. I think before that I was kind of thinking of, ‘Maybe I should come back.’”

The 37-year-old’s most recent tournament was last year’s Miami Open presented by Itau. Anderson then announced his retirement in May 2022. A major reason behind the decision was physical pain.

Now the South African feels much better physically and in terms of striking the ball, it took little time for him to recover his rhythm once he decided to ramp up towards a return.

“Up and down the middle, almost immediately, I felt like I hadn't missed a beat," Anderson said. "That's the thing, I've played tennis my whole life, and I was moving well, and for me, the biggest thing in that environment is [there is] very little stress. I'm relaxed, I'm loose, I'm really using all of my capabilities.

"I think that sometimes overlooked in professional sports and just using tennis, [it is about] how much can you extract? And the reality is… let's take the top of the world, especially Novak, Rafa and Roger, and people always say they raise their levels. I actually disagree with that.

"I feel that they're able to use the abilities that they have in crazy moments, and the biggest moments in the finals of Grand Slams, and they're just so present. I think that's what's really separated them.”

For years, Anderson has always tried to squeeze even the smallest percentage of improvement from his game. During his comeback, he has put a focus on his mental approach and attitude towards his work. 

“I never gave myself, I think, enough trust and belief for just how good [of] a tennis player I was. I think you do need to put in the work and the hours, but you also need to know when you've done that, and have that belief that you've got it and you kind of have to let go and just trust the process a little bit,” Anderson said. “And for me, that was my biggest challenge. And I think I only realised that really once I retired from the sport.”

The seven-time ATP Tour titlist climbed as high as No. 5 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings and competed in the Nitto ATP Finals. He also earned at least one victory against each of Federer, Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray.

Although he has had thoughts about wanting to work harder to further improve his progress during his comeback, Anderson has given himself more of a break than he would have in the past.

“I love working hard, so it's sometimes tougher for me,” Anderson said. “But that's just one of many sorts of things I've come across and lessons I'm trying to learn still. So I think that's why it's just been a really useful experience.”

Anderson "really got away" from tennis following his retirement and did not often watch the sport. In the past couple of months he has caught live tennis here and there, but has spent more time watching YouTube clips of old matches, including one of his favourites, the 2009 Australian Open final between Nadal and Federer. Anderson is a big tennis fan who loves the sport.

The 37-year-old explained that emotionally and mentally, the intensity of competition “was a lot” during his career. He hopes to focus on growing from his experiences as a player and a person as he makes his return.

“Coming back now, honestly, there's a lot of uncertainties. I don't have a ranking, I'm relying on potentially getting a few wild cards during the summer. So I'm going to come out and compete, for sure,” Anderson said. “But to be honest, the result isn't my primary goal. The primary goal is really to learn through this process. There'll be a lot of different challenges to face along the way that I'm really kind of keeping my eyes focussed on and there's a lot of experiences that you come across and as much as you can keep learning from them, I think that's one of the keys.

“That's what I try to do, so that's what I'll be doing as much as I can as long as I have some opportunities to keep playing.”