Anderson: I hope to come back stronger

Cape Town - South Africa’s Kevin Anderson has praised Diego Schwartzman after the Argentine staged a dramatic comeback to win their French Open Round of 16 encounter on Monday.

Anderson was on the verge of reaching the French Open quarter-finals for the first time when he served for the match, leading 6-1, 6-2, 5-4.

But Schwartzman broke back and a couple of games later again broke serve to steal the set 7-5.

Anderson regained his composure in the fourth set but again faltered when serving for the match at 5-4.

The diminutive Argentine, who stands just 5-foot-7 (1.7m) compared to the 6-foot-8 (2.03m) Anderson, eventually won the fourth set on a tie-break (7/0).

Anderson’s game fell apart in the final set as Schwartzman claimed it 6-2 to book a spot in the quarter-finals against world No 1 Rafael Nadal.

It will be a bitter pill to swallow for Anderson, who has now lost in the fourth round of the French Open on four separate occasions.

He was also set to become the first South African man to make the last eight of the French Open since Cliff Drysdale 51 years ago.

Despite the disappointment, Anderson still took to Twitter to congratulate his opponent, giving credit to Schwartzman:

Tough one today. All credit to Diego on a great match. I hope to come back stronger ?? Merci, @rolandgarros. See you next year. #RG18 pic.twitter.com/GKIIEgFjHu

— Kevin Anderson (@KAndersonATP) June 4, 2018