SA's No.1 Kevin Anderson up against Querry‚ crowd and history at US Open

The Arthur Ashe Stadium in Flushing‚ New York‚ is a 22500-seat concrete monolith that feels soulless‚ even when half full

But on Wednesday morning (SA time)‚ South Africa’s Kevin Anderson will encounter a frothing‚ heaving mass of New Yorkers who want to see the back of him and it will be anything but soulless.

It’s not that the likeable 31-year-old has done anything to upset the most forthright sports fans in the world.

It’s just that he’s playing against toothy 29-year-old American Sam Querrey for a place in the US Open semifinals‚ and therefore Anderson will be enemy No 1.

Anderson will not only have to stop Querrey‚ who has won 15 of his last 19 matches in all tournaments‚ but also the huge and hugely‚ partisan crowd.

Anderson has slipped under the radar at Flushing Meadows to reach the last eight.

He’s used his massive serve and improved groundstrokes to bludgeon his way into a 15th meeting against Querrey while the American has used similar traits to become the first local man to reach the US Open quarterfinals since 2011.

Head-to-head the American leads 8-6‚ with Anderson winning their last meeting in the round of 16 at the Canadian Masters last month.

The American‚ though‚ won their fourth round clash at Wimbledon in July in five sets‚ but it will be Querrey under the most pressure as the higher ranked player and the crowd favourite.

Both men also understand that they’ve never had a better chance of making a Grand Slam final – and at the back end of their careers.

Most players‚ Roger Federer excluded‚ tend to begin their slide down the rankings after their 30th birthday.

Anderson and Querrey‚ though‚ are both enjoying a surge late in their careers‚ and the tantalising prospect of a US Open final is a reality.

The winner of this match will come up against the winner between Spain’s No 12 seed Pablo Carreno Busta and Argentina’s Diego Schwartzman in the semifinals.

It’s not like the winner is waiting to play Federer or Rafa Nadal in the last four‚ although that challenge is likely to come in the final.

US men’s tennis has undergone a slump this century after two generations of champions from Jimmy Connors and John McEnroe to Andre Agassi and Pete Sampras dominated the sport.

Andy Roddick‚ who won the 2003 US Open‚ was the last American men’s Grand Slam champion while Anderson is hoping to emulate Johan Kriek by becoming the first South African Grand Slam winner since 1982.

But first things first.

The last time a South African man was in the last four of a major was Wayne Ferreira at the 2003 Australian Open‚ which came 11 years after his first appearance in a Grand Slam semi at the same tournament.

Anderson must be motivated by the prospect of becoming only the second South African in the past quarter of a century to reach the semis at a major.

Querrey and Anderson have each only lost a single set in their four previous matches with Anderson’s serve only being broken once throughout the tournament.

Both are taking good form into the encounter and so it will come down to who handles the pressure and the big moments best.

- TimesLIVE