PUNE, January 5, 2019

Top seed Kevin Anderson opened the new year with a win at the Tata Open Maharashtra. The World No. 6 from South Africa fought past Croatian veteran Ivo Karlovic 7-6(4), 6-7(2), 7-6(5) in Saturday’s singles final.

Anderson recovered from 2-5 down in a final-set tie-break to secure victory after two hours and 44 minutes.

The best possible start to the year! 🎉@KAndersonATP beats Ivo Karlovic 7-6(4) 6-7(2) 7-6(5) to win the @MaharashtraOpen in Pune! 🏆🇿🇦 pic.twitter.com/JkJHn7b10V

— Tennis TV (@TennisTV) 5. Januar 2019

The title match went in the record books for the tallest ATP Tour final with Anderson at 6’8” and Karlovic towering at 6’11”. Out of their five meetings, Anderson earned his fourth victory over the Croatian and his sixth ATP career title.

“I really wanted to go one step further than last year,” Anderson said. “You don’t get to win tournaments every week. So when you do, it is very special and it is something that definitely means a lot to me.”