Anderson eyeing top 10 after US Open run

New York, September 11: Kevin Anderson has set his sights on breaking back into the top 10 following his first grand slam final appearance at the US Open.

Anderson, 31, surprisingly made it all the way through to Sunday's (September 10) decider at Flushing Meadows, where he suffered a 6-3 6-3 6-4 loss to world number one and 16-time major champion Rafael Nadal.

It was unfamiliar territory for the 28th-seeded Anderson, whose career has been impacted by injuries in recent years – resulting in him dropping to 80th in the world after a hip problem forced him to miss the Australian Open in January.

But with Anderson – who had never progressed beyond the quarter-finals of a slam before this year's US Open – projected to climb up to 15th in the rankings, the South African is determined to return to the top 10 for the first time since 2015.

6-3, 6-3, 6-4.@RafaelNadal defeats Kevin Anderson to win his 3rd #USOpen title and 16th career Grand Slam! pic.twitter.com/rJANGdqcyV
— US Open Tennis (@usopen) September 10, 2017

"The target of getting back to 10 is something I set myself a little while ago," Anderson told a news conference. "Got off to a bit of a tough start beginning of the year, but especially this summer I have really put myself in a good position.

"I feel like when I'm taking care of the stuff I need to, the ranking will take care of itself. It's great to sit back at the end of the week and see the jump that I have made and the spots I have been able to climb, something I can be very proud of.

"When I play my next tournament, it will be back at sort of square one in that sense. Everyone will be very determined, whoever I'm playing in that match, and regardless of what happened these two weeks, I can take confidence.

"But I'm really going to have to, reset and, would love to have obviously a very strong finish to the year. I think maybe missing the beginning of the year has set me up well in terms of freshness."

Source: OPTA