We need to talk about Kevin Anderson.
The 33 year-old South African, on the comeback trail after six months out of tennis with a knee injury, looms as an unseeded player no one wants to face in the early rounds of the Australian Open.
Now ranked 147 in the world, Anderson only gets an automatic start at the season-opening grand slam because he was ranked 91 in the world when entries closed for Melbourne Park last year.
But they are numbers that are looking less and less relevant as the former Wimbledon and US Open runner-up makes a statement during his return matches at the ATP Cup.
Anderson easily dispatched Chilean world No.33 Cristian Garin on Monday, following on from a two-tiebreak loss to Novak Djokovic on Saturday.
He surprised the Serb with his level of play given he hadn’t featured in a tournament since Wimbledon last July.
A 203cm serving machine, Anderson is pleased with his progress.
“Obviously, there’s a lot of tennis to be played but definitely set in the right direction today,” he said.
Formerly ranked as high as No.5 in the world, Anderson aims to get back at least into the top ten and win a Masters series event and elusive grand slam.
“I feel like that’s something that I’m definitely a good enough tennis player to do that,” he said.
“I’ve put myself in good positions but haven’t quite taken that step.”
Anderson will get another chance to show how far he’s come when he is slated to play France’s enigmatic world No.9 Gael Monfils on Wednesday.