Anderson sees off Busta in Mubadala Championship

Abu Dhabi - The South African will face World No. 5 Dominic Thiem

World No. 14 Kevin Anderson beat World No. 10 Pablo Carreno Busta 6-3, 7-6 (7-2) in the opening day match of the Mubadala World Tennis Championship at the International Tennis Centre in Zayed Sports City on a chilly Thursday evening.
The encounter between South African Anderson and Spaniard Busta brought back memories of the second-round Rogers Cup 2017 match in Canada. Earlier this year, Anderson has got the better off Busta in the semifinals of the US Open. And the domination by the South African continued in Abu Dhabi too.
After Anderson took the first point, Busta levelled to make it 1-1 but with 2-1, 3-1 and the serve broken, the game slipped away from the Spaniard. An unnecessary delay with net issues broke the momentum and Anderson took the first set 6-3.
The game came into life in the second set as each point was well-fought with longer rallies. There were solid baseline plays but each Busta attempt was nailed with solid return from Anderson, who served really well despite coming from a lay-off.
In the post-match press conference, Anderson said he has 'bunch of positives' from the match and such an encounter served as a perfect opportunity to try out things practiced in the off-season training.
"Your first match is always interesting. I served well. Pablo was very tough. In the second set, I had more opportunities to break few more times. So, this is positive. I moved around court well. The ball was pretty quick."
Looking ahead to match against World No. 5 Dominic Thiem on Friday, Anderson said it will be a tough and a tricky match.
"I have played him quite a few times. He is one of the best players in the world. He had a good season, is a true competitor and a free swinger. It will be an exciting match," Anderson noted.
Despite the loss, Busta said he generally felt good about his outings. Busta had made changes to his serve during the off-season and was satisfied with the results.
"This was an important match. It is the first match after four to six weeks. I feel good. Of course it is very difficult when you are playing against these kinds of players. Kevin was very good. It is always difficult to try out new things (practiced in off-season). I will continue practicing and will be ready for new season."
Busta noted the surface was very faster than he had expected. In the second match of the evening, Roberto Bautista Agut, ranked 20, thrashed No. 39 Andrey Rublev 7-5, 6-2 to reach the semi-finals on Friday.
In the first set, Agut whizzed to 4-1 lead but Rublev made a valiant comeback. Agut, however, took the first set 7-5 and in the second there wasn't much fight as the Spaniard wrapped it up at 6-2. On Friday, Busta and Rublev will face-off for fifth-place match, later Anderson will fight Thiem for a place in the final and the big match of the evening will see Novak Djokovic return to the court and