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Melbourne - South Africa's No 1 player, Kevin Anderson, lost an intense and seesawing first round match at the opening grand slam of the 2018 season on Monday.
TEST YOUR KNOWLEDGE: Can you name the men’s singles Australian Open winners since 1990?
Britain's Kyle Edmund proved too strong for Anderson over 5-sets, winning 6-7 (4/7), 6-3, 3-6, 6-3, 6-4.
Anderson felt he was in for a tough match when the draw was released.
"Kyle's a great competitor and his form is very dangerous."
Anderson felt that he competed throughout the match, but admitted that Edmund "hit the ball very well and made very few errors in very tricky conditions."
The match could have gone either way with not much separating the two players in terms of total points won (Edmund won 155 points to Anderson's 154).
It was particularly disappointing for Anderson after missing last year's tournament.
"It was bitterly disappointing to lose today as I had high expectations and hopes coming into this tournament. I was very excited to be here."
Although Anderson has not started the year as he would have liked, he's determined to improve.
"It's a case of keeping my head up, learning from it and coming back stronger."
Even more so that it was his first big tournament after his runner-up showing in last year's US Open.
"I came here to have a very big tournament and not just win a few rounds."
"It's even more disappointing after my success at last year's US Open."
However, Anderson will be back as he loves the event.
"I really enjoy playing in Australia and I think it's a fantastic tournament."
There is one member of his team that will be chuffed that they will be seeing him sooner than later - his beloved dog Lady Kady.
At the very least her unconditional love will soften the blow of losing.
As always a big thank you to @AustralianOpen for having me and looking forward to next time! ????????
— Kevin Anderson (@KAndersonATP) January 15, 2018
#Throwback to one year ago today when we brought Lady Kady home from Dezzy’s Second Chance Animal Rescue ??
— Kevin Anderson (@KAndersonATP) January 13, 2018
She brings a lot of joy to my life, so I’m continuing to support the rescue we got her from as much as I can. #adoptdontshop https://t.co/Zx0M2Q585j pic.twitter.com/GMfDY9fQrM
