CAPE TOWN – A day after Kevin Anderson flew the South African flag high at Wimbledon, Raven Klaasen followed suit in Thursday’s action at SW19.
Anderson pulled off the biggest win of his career by beating Roger Federer in a five-set thriller in the quarter-finals, with the last set going to 13-11.
The big-serving Anderson, who is seeded eighth, took to the practice courts again on Thursday to get ready for his first Wimbledon semi-final against American John Isner, the ninth seed, on Friday.
But his countryman Klaasen was also victorious on Thursday, combining with New Zealand partner Michael Venus in beating Frederik Nielsen of Denmark and Joe Salisbury of the UK 7-6 (8-6) 3-6 6-3 6-4 in two hours and 21 minutes.
The 35-year-old Klaasen, who hails from Kuils River near Cape Town, is a doubles specialist who has won 14 career titles.
His best finish at a Grand Slam was reaching the final at the 2014 Australian Open, but now he has emulated that feat at Wimbledon – where his previous best outcome was a 2016 semi-final.
He is currently ranked 30th in the world in doubles, but went as high as No 9 in 2016. Klaasen and Venus will face American duo Mike Bryan and Jack Sock in the final on Saturday, which will take place after the women’s decider between Serena Williams and Angelique Kerber.
Anderson will be on Centre Court on Friday at 2pm SA time against Isner, which will be followed by the other semi-final between Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic.
The American duo of Sock and Bryan are through to the gentlemen's doubles final, beating Inglot and Skugor 6-3, 6-1, 6-7(11), 6-7(4), 6-4 in a thriller on No.2 Court 🇺🇸 #Wimbledon pic.twitter.com/06TVFQ6Zek
— Wimbledon (@Wimbledon) July 12, 2018
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