Anderson opens Toronto campaign against qualifier

Cape Town - South African tennis star Kevin Anderson will open his Toronto Masters singles campaign against Russian qualifier Evgeny Donskoy on Wednesday.

Anderson started his week on a high note when he and Serbia’s Novak Djokovic defeated the Canadian duo of Denis Shapovalov and Felix Auger-Aliassime 6-3, 6-2 in their first-round doubles match on Monday.

Anderson is the fourth seed in singles at the Canadian Masters 1000 event and is expected to beat Donskoy, the world No 87. The Russian defeated compatriot Andrey Rublev 7-6 (9/7), 6-4 in his first-round match.

Anderson, who enjoyed a bye in the first round, boasts a 4-0 head-to-head win record against Donskoy in matches played on the ATP World Tour.

The South African should however be wary as Donskoy is best remembered for upsetting Roger Federer at the Dubai Tennis Championships last year.

Anderson also has a doubles match later on Wednesday, as he and Djokovic will face the formidable third-seeded French pairing of Nicolas Mahut and Pierre-Hugues Herbert.