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Johannesburg - Big-serving, 2.07m tall top South African tennis player Kevin Anderson was walking tall on Tuesday after being elevated to a best-ever world ranking of 76th.
And after a highly encouraging six weeks of tournament action in which his world ranking has zoomed upward a matter of 50 places with victories over opponents of the calibre of the 20th-ranked Sam Querrey, Anderson has opted for a well-deserved break this week before the crucial United States Open at the end of the month.
Anderson's rise in the rankings has also virtually assured him of an automatic qualifying position into the main draw of the prestigious and lucrative grand slam event at Flushing Meadows. And all this has coincided with the Johannesburg-born player making himself available for South Africa in the Davis Cup for the first time in two years when the crucial World Group play-off against Germany is staged in Stuttgart next month. from September 17 to 19.
"We always believed that Kevin had the talent to go this far - and further," said South African Davis Cup team captain John-Laffnie de Jager, "and his striking improvement has come just at the right time before we face the powerful German squad."
Representing South Africa in Germany will be Anderson, Rik De Voest, Izak van der Merwe and doubles specialists Wesley Moodie and Jeff Coetzee.
Germany hold a 5-3 success advantage over South Africa in Davis Cup competition after proving victorious on the last four occasions the countries have met.
But of the eight ties between South Africa and Germany, only one has been staged in South Africa - ironically won by Germany at the Ellis Park Indoor Arena three years ago.
