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Cape Town - After what might have seemed an eternity, top South African tennis player Kevin Anderson has stopped the rot that resulted in his world ranking systematically declining from 12th at the start of the year to an unpalatable 34th.
The turnaround has occurred as a result of 30-year-old Anderson reaching the quarter-final stage of the Toronto Masters event, with the 6ft 8in big server improving to a turnaround 28th ranking this week.
And Anderson thanked the supporters who had stuck by him at the tournament - as well as those further afield - with the fact that Toronto has a strong contingent of South Africans now living in the Canadian city, no doubt, a factor in this respect.
Anderson gained creditable victories over Viktor Troicki and Bernard Tomic in Toronto before going down in straights sets to world number four Stan Wawrinka.
Prior to this, Anderson had won only two games in one tournament in an injury-plagued year that had started with high expectations and optimism.
He also has the opportunity of continuing his ranking rehabilitation this week in the Atlanta Open where he is seeded third behind defending champion John Isner and Nick Kyrgios - with his prospects improved by the fact that most of the world's top players will be participating in the Olympic Games in Brazil.
And with the United States Open looming at the end of the month, Anderson will be hoping to banish memories of his frustrating run before playing in the Flushing Meadows event in which he beat world number two Andy Murray last year to reach his only Grand Slam quarter-final.
