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Johannesburg - South African number one tennis player Kevin Anderson reached his highest ever world ranking on Tuesday, then lost 7-6 (7) 6-7 (3) 6-4 to Romania's Victor Hanescu in the first round of the Heineken Open in Auckland.
The big-serving Anderson reached a career best 56th world ranking after he beat Feliciano Lopez, then lost to eighth ranked Andy Roddick in the semi-finals of last week's Brisbane International.
The 51st ranked Hanescu proved too strong for the South African in a gruelling three-hour encounter that could have gone either way until the final point.
However, Anderson's new ranking - he was 61st in December - assures him automatic qualification for next week's Australian Open grand slam in Melbourne.
"I'm moving in the right direction and playing the best tennis of my career," the 24-year-old South African said in a conference call.
Despite his loss to Hanescu, tennis pundits in Australia believe Anderson is poised to take his game to a higher level in the next two years.
He credits his new-found form to an improved mental attitude, greater consistency and the influence of his new coach, former South African Davis Cup player Louis Vosloo.
Anderson also hopes to return to Davis Cup competition, after an absence of more than two years, when South Africa faces either The Netherlands or Ukraine in July, immediately after the Wimbledon Championships.
He will also play in the South African Open at Montecasino immediately after the Australian Open and is likely to be seeded fourth or fifth.
