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Cape Town - Coach Neville Godwin has allayed the US Open scare that emerged after Kevin Anderson withdrew at the last minute from the just-completed Winston-Salem ATP tournament after being seeded fourth for the event.
Following an 18-month period in which he had been blighted by a succession of injuries, it was feared the back-to-fitness and form Anderson might have suffered another such setback.
But in an interview from New York where Anderson is preparing for the final Grand Slam tournament of the year, Godwin revealed that South Africa's number one and only singles representative at Flushing Meadows was "fighting fit."
Regarding Anderson's withdrawal from Winston-Salem, Godwin commented: "Kevin played a lot in Washington and Montreal, (it's) best to be fresh heading into a slam."
But, in an ironic twist under the circumstances, the 32nd world-ranked and 28th US Open-seeded Anderson now faces the prospect of facing 20-year-old prodigy, Alexander Zverev, who halted his quest for glory in Washington and Montreal, should both reach the third round at Flushing Meadows.
A good deal less daunting is Anderson's first-round match-up against 536th-ranked qualifier, JC Aragone, although a possible second-round confrontation against the gifted, but enigmatic Ernests Gulbis could be a good deal tougher.
Meanwhile, with second-seeded Andy Murray's late withdrawal from the US Open because of a lingering hip injury, the unusual situation exists whereby only two of the world's top five-ranked players, top-seeded Rafael Nadal and the evergreen Roger Federer, feature at the US Open - to face the growing threat from a burgeoning array of budding superstars headed by Zverev and including Nick Kyrgios, Dominic Thiem, Marin Cilic and Grigor Dimitrov.
An intriguing change in the elite tennis guard? Maybe, but no certainty with the legendary Federer and Nadal dedicated to have a say in the matter.
