Prompt: Question: Tell me a bio of Asafa Powell.

Asafa Powell

<s>Asafa Powell Asafa Powell, CD (born 23 November 1982) is a retired Jamaican sprinter who specialised in the 100 metres. He set the 100 metres world record twice, between June 2005 and May 2008 with times of 9.77 and 9.74 seconds. Powell has consistently broken the 10-second barrier in competition, with his personal best of 9.72 s ranking fourth on the all-time list of men's 100-metre athletes. As of 1 September 2016, Powell has broken the ten-second barrier more times than anyone else—97 times. He currently holds the world record for the 100-yard dash with a time of 9.09 s, set on 27 May 2010 in Ostrava, Czech Republic. At the 2016 Rio Olympic Games, he won a gold medal in the 4 x 100 metres relay. Powell competed in the 100 m at the 2004, 2008 and 2012 Olympics, finishing fifth in 2004 and 2008 and eighth after injuring his groin during the race in 2012. At the 2007 Osaka World Championships, he won a bronze and a silver medal in the 100 m and 4 x 100 m relay respectively, and he was successful at the Commonwealth Games, winning two golds and one silver medal. At

Asafa Powell

the 2009 World Championships, he won the 100 m bronze and relay gold. Powell has won five times at the IAAF World Athletics Final and was the former 100 m world record holder in the event. In 2013, Powell tested positive for the stimulant oxilofrine along with teammate Sherone Simpson and voluntarily withdrew from the 2013 World Athletics Championships as a result, though both maintained they did not take any banned supplements knowingly or willfully. On 10 April 2014, they received an 18-month suspension from competing, which was set to expire in December that year. However the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) lifted both athletes' suspensions on 14 July 2014, finding that the positive tests were caused by the presence of oxilofrine, undisclosed by the manufacturer, in a supplement taken by the pair.</s><s>Biography and sprinting career. Born in Spanish Town, Jamaica, Asafa Powell is the youngest of six sons of two ministers. Asafa attended Ewarton Primary School and Charlemont High School, both in St. Catherine, Jamaica. Powell planned to be a mechanic before he took up running while studying in Kingston, Jamaica. His eldest brother Donovan, was a 60 m finalist in the 1999 World Indoor Championships. Running

Asafa Powell

runs in the family: His brothers clocked 9.5 seconds for the 100 yd dash, his mother 11.4 s, and his father 10.2 s. Powell is a member of the MVP (Maximising Velocity and Power) Track & Field Club based at the University of Technology, Jamaica and has been coached by Stephen Francis since 2001.</s><s>Biography and sprinting career.:2000–2005: Early career. Powell represented his school Charlemont High at the ISSA High School Championships. On 11 April he finished fourth in the Class 1 200 m, in 23.07 with a −1.7 m/s headwind. On 13 April, he finished third in his heat of the Boy's Class 1 100 m, recording 11.45 with a −2.3 m/s headwind. Neither time recorded in the heats was quick enough to advance him to the next round of competition. Powell again represented Charlemont High at the ISSA High School Boy And Girls Championships, finishing seventh in the Class 1 100 m Final. Recognizing some talent, coach Stephen Francis started coaching Powell one week later. The coach looked for a way to give the tall teenager a faster start. After searching the island, Stephen

Asafa Powell

Francis found a 100 m stretch of road with a 10% slope and trains his runners on that. Powell vindicated Francis by winning the Boys Under-20 100 m event in 10.50 seconds at the JAAA National Championships on 22 June. At the 2002 Commonwealth Games in Manchester, Powell finished fifth in the semi-finals of the 100 m event, setting a personal best of 10.26 s. Powell, along with Michael Frater, Dwight Thomas and Christopher Williams formed the Jamaican 4×100 m relay team that went on to win a silver medal. Powell finished just behind Darren Campbell in the last leg of the relay, with both men finishing in 38.62 s. Powell won the Jamaican 100 m National Championship in 2003. Powell came to attention within the world of athletics at the 2003 World Championships, when he suffered the ignominy of being 'the other athlete' disqualified for a false start in the quarter-final. This was when Jon Drummond memorably refused to leave the track having suffered the same fate, both athletes moved less than 0.1 s after the gun had fired, with Powell's reactions being timed at 0.086 s. Six days later Powell was added to the 4 × 100

Asafa Powell

m relay team for the semi-final, running as the anchor. He helped the team qualify for the final, recording the second fastest time. Powell never had a chance to run for a medal in the final as the second baton exchange was not executed cleanly and the Jamaican team failed to finish. During the 2003 season, Powell won two IAAF Grand Prix events, one of which was an AF Golden League event. He finished seventh in 10.23 s in the 100 m at the IAAF World Athletics Final. On 12 June, Powell recorded his first sub-10 100 m race time (9.99 s +1.8 m/s) while participating in the National Junior Track and Field Championships, held at the GC Foster College in Spanish Town. Two weeks later Powell became one of the favourites for a medal in the 100 m at the 2004 Athens Olympics after winning the Jamaican National Championships with a personal best time of 9.91 s. Although he ended the season with a record-equaling nine sub-10 second runs, Powell finished just fifth in the highly competitive Olympic final, with a time of 9.94 s. Following this he pulled out of the 200 m final, even though he had already qualified

Asafa Powell

eighth for it earlier on. Powell did not get the chance to run for a medal in the 4 × 100 m relay, as the Jamaican team failed to qualify for the final with a season best 38.71 s fourth-place finish in their heat. Following his Olympic disappointment Powell set a new national record of 9.87 s for the 100 m at the Memorial Van Damme in Bruxelles on 3 September. He recorded five IAAF Grand Prix wins in 2004. In addition, he became the first man to win both the 100 m and 200 m races at the World Athletics Final in championship record time. Powell was world ranked number one for the 100 m and number four for the 200 m at the end of the season. Powell set a new national record of 9.84 s at the Jamaica International Invitational in May. He gained some consolation for his Olympic performance by breaking the 100 m world record in Athens on 14 June 2005, setting a time of 9.77 s, beating American Tim Montgomery's 2002 record of 9.78 s (which was later annulled due to doping charges against Montgomery) by just 0.01 s. Coincidentally, Powell achieved the feat on the same track as Maurice Greene's 1999

Asafa Powell

world record run of 9.79 s. Wind assistance for Powell was measured at 1.6 m/s, within the IAAF legal limit of 2.0 m/s. Powell again won the 100 m final at the Jamaican National Championships. A groin injury in July cut short his season and forced him to miss the World Championships. His season ended with just two IAAF Grand Prix event wins. Despite his shortened season, Powell had the three fastest 100 m times of the year, received the Caribbean And Central American (CAC) Male Athlete of the Year award, and ranked second in the world.</s><s>Biography and sprinting career.:2006–2007: Worldwide success. 2006 was Powell's most successful season. He won the 2006 Commonwealth Games 100 metres race after a drama-filled semi-final which saw two disqualifications and three false starts. Powell himself ran into another competitor's lane while looking at the scoreboard, however he was held not to have impeded the runner. He also anchored the 4 × 100 m relay team, and finished the Commonwealth Games with two gold medals. In May, he won the 100 m at the Jamaica International Invitational in 9.95 s. In addition to winning the 200 m

Asafa Powell

at the Jamaican National Championships in June, he won ten 100 m IAAF Grand Prix events, including all six Golden League events. Powell then equalled his world record time on 11 June 2006 at Gateshead International Stadium with wind assistance measured at +1.5 m/s. The exact time was 9.7629 s, which was rounded up to 9.77 s as per IAAF rules. On 18 August 2006 in Zürich, Powell equalled it again for the second time with wind assistance at +1.0 m/s. He won his sixth IAAF Golden League event (for the 100 m) in the same season, thus earning him a total of $250,000 in prize money. Powell also won the 100 m at the World Athletics Final, again setting a new championship record on 9 September. One week later at the World Cup in Athletics, the Americas team anchored by Powell recorded a DNF. In October, Powell again received the Caribbean And Central American (CAC) Male Athlete of the Year award. On 12 November 2006, he was awarded the title of 2006 Male IAAF World Athlete of the Year along with a cheque for $100,000. He also received the honour of Track

Asafa Powell

& Field Athlete of the Year for 2006. On 5 January 2007, Powell received the Commonwealth Games Sports Foundation Athlete of the Year award. On 3 February he was honoured at the International Sports Group (ISG) Awards Banquet, held in New York. In addition, Powell was nominated for the Laureus World Sports Awards Sportsman of the Year award. Suffering from knee Tendinitis and missing weeks of training Powell missed competing at the Penn Relays and the Jamaica International Invitational in May. Powell was again the Jamaican National Champion for the 100 m. Unfortunately, Powell again injured his groin while running the final at the Jamaica Championships. He only managed to finish third in the 100 m final at the 2007 World Championships in Osaka, Japan, behind Tyson Gay, who was considered Powell's biggest rival building up to the Championships. Derrick Atkins, Powell's second cousin, came second in 9.91 s. Powell himself finished in a time of 9.96 s (running in a 0.5 m/s headwind) after being passed by Tyson and Derrick Atkins in the late stages of the race. Later, Powell admitted that he panicked and gave up after seeing Tyson pass him, allowing Derrick Atkins also to overtake. Former American spr

Asafa Powell

inter Michael Johnson was critical of Powell's performance, stating: However, Powell did help to win the silver medal in the 4 × 100 m relay race. Running the anchor leg for the Jamaican team, he came from fifth and passed Great Britain at the line to help record a Jamaican national record of 37.89 s. The United States meanwhile took gold. On 9 September 2007, in the opening heats of the IAAF Grand Prix in Rieti, Italy, Powell ran a new world record time of 9.74 s (+1.7 m/s) in the 100 m, thus fulfilling the promise he had made earlier after his bronze medal in Osaka, that he would break the record by the end of the year. This was intended to make up for the disappointment of not becoming World Champion. Remarkably, Powell eased up in the final few metres of his record-setting run, indicating that he was saving his strength for the final. In the final itself, Powell finished in 9.78 s (0 m/s windspeed) and bettered his semi-final time when adjusted for wind assistance. Unfortunately, Powell ended his season on 30 September with a left hamstring injury, which came about while running in the lead

Asafa Powell

of the 200 m race at the Super Track & Field meet in Yokohama, Japan. Powell finished 2007 with a total of five IAAF Grand Prix event wins, plus his second consecutive World Athletic Final 100 m win, with yet another championship record. For the third consecutive year Powell won the Caribbean And Central American (CAC) Male Athlete of the Year award. Powell closed the year receiving the IAAF Performance of the Year award, for his 9.74 s world record, and was ranked second in the world.</s><s>Biography and sprinting career.:2008–2009: Olympics and World Championships. On 29 January 2008, Powell received the RJR Sports Foundation's 2007 Sportsman of the Year award. Powell's 2008 season started much as his 2007 season ended: with another injury. Powell was forced to pull out of the Sydney Grand Prix meeting, having suffered a gash to his left knee that required four stitches. The injury was a result of tripping on the steps of his home, hours before getting on the flight to Sydney on 12 February. Powell was again injured in April, this time with damage to his pectoral muscles. The injury forced Powell out of competition for two months, and was sustained while weight training in Jamaica during

Asafa Powell

mid-April. Surgery was required, and a visible scar was left on his right underarm. On 31 May, fellow Jamaican Usain Bolt ran a time of 9.72 s at the Reebok Grand Prix in New York, breaking Powell's 3-year dominance of the 100 m world record. On 11 July, Powell suffered his third injury of 2008 while leading in Heat 1 of the Golden Gala Roma, eventually finishing fifth. He had injured his groin (described as a "strain" and a "cramp"), and was forced to miss the next two events on the Grand Prix schedule. Powell made his comeback at the DN Galan meet, where he beat the new World Record holder Bolt, in a close race. The meet's top performers were a Jamaican 1–2–3–4 with Nesta Carter and Michael Frater following the pair. This top four would later combine to run the 4 × 100 m relay at the Olympics. Prior to the 2008 Olympics in Beijing, Powell hit back at the claims saying he lacked the mental strength needed to win an Olympic gold medal. Despite his words, the 100 m final saw Powell again finish in a disappointing fifth, recording a time of 9.95 s. Team

Asafa Powell

mates Bolt and Michael Frater also raced in the final. Bolt won and broke the record he set months earlier (finishing in 9.69 s) and Frater came sixth, recording his first sub-10 clocking at 9.97 s. Seven days later, Powell finally got his first Olympic medal as he anchored the Jamaican 4 × 100 m relay team to victory, helping establish a new world record in the process. His split time was recorded at 8.70 s (USATF High Performance Registered Split Analysis), bettering his previous record of 8.84 s set in Osaka, 2007. This is the fastest electronically timed anchor run in history, as Bob Hayes was hand timed as running between 8.6 and 8.9 seconds in the 1964 Olympics. The gold medal was later vacated by the IOC in 2017 when a retest of teammate Nesta Carter found the presence of the prohibited substance methylhexaneamine. On 2 September 2008, Powell ran a new personal best of 9.72 s in the 100 m with windspeed measured at +0.2 m/s. He accomplished this feat at the Athletissima Grand Prix in Lausanne, Switzerland. After the run, he said that Bolt's

Asafa Powell

record performance at the Olympics had inspired him to target a time of 9.59 s: Powell was optimistic about his future chances on the track, and philosophical as to why he could not peak in past major championships: Following his fifth-place finish in Beijing on 16 August, Powell recorded seven consecutive 100 m races under 9.90 s, including two races under 9.80 s. In addition, 2008 was Powell's second-best season on the Grand Prix circuit, claiming seven victories, plus his third consecutive win (and fourth overall) in the 100 m at the World Athletics Final. On his return to Jamaica, Powell was honoured in a homecoming celebration and received an Order of Distinction (Commander Rank) in recognition of his achievements at the Olympics. For the second consecutive year Powell ranked second in the world. Powell opened his season on 31 January at the Grace Jackson Invitational, held at Stadium East, Kingston, Jamaica. He ran the 400 metres, winning his heat in 47.75 s, placing him second overall in the four heat time-final. Powell ran the anchor leg for two relay teams at the Milo Western Relays held at the GC Foster College on 14 February. In his first race, his MVP team recorded a

Asafa Powell

new meet record and world leading time of 38.72 s for the 4 × 100 m relay. Later, he was timed at 46.27 s for his leg of the 4 × 400 metres relay, again winning the race for his MVP team. Powell next competed at the Sydney Track Classic in Australia on 28 February, again running the anchor leg in the 4 x 100 m relay and winning it in a new world leading time of 38.62 s. Two hours later, he ran a 400 m race, finishing 4th in a new personal best 45.94 s and shaving 1.23 s off his previous best time. After the 400 m race, Powell said: Five days later, Powell ran his first 100 m race of the season. Competing at the Melbourne Track Classic he ran a world leading 10.23 s, wind measuring −1.4 m/s on the coldest day of the year to date. On 16 April, Powell was nominated for the Laureus World Team of the Year award, as a member of the 2008 Jamaica Olympic Sprint Team. Powell then found himself involved in controversy when he was a last-minute "no show" at the UTech Track and Field Classic on 18 April

Asafa Powell

. He had previously been advertised to run the 200 m and 4 × 100 m relay races. Powell attended as a spectator. A press conference called three days later by the MVP Track Club did not fully answer questions as to why Powell did not compete. The matter was reported to the Jamaica Fair Trading Commission which started investigations on 23 April. Powell was next to run at the Penn Relays on 25 April, but on the morning of the event, the Jamaica Observer reported that he had withdrawn from the 4 × 100 m relay. His manager Paul Doyle stated that Powell would not run due to concerns with his ankle while running the curve on the Franklin Field track. The Jamaica Observer cited a "highly placed source" when reporting that Powell had turned his ankle in training at Utech. Despite the report, Powell ran the anchor leg of the relay but aggravated the ankle injury, pulled up and finished ninth in 41.24 s. Scheduled to run at the IAAF Super Grand Prix in Doha on 8 May, Powell withdrew from the event, citing the need for sufficient time for his injured ankle to properly heal. He finished seventh in his first event returning from injury, the Reebok Grand Prix held in New York at Icahn Stadium on 30 May. When interviewed he stated that

Asafa Powell

his ankle was very weak but not painful. He finished second in his next event, the Prefontaine Classic eight days later. On 27 June, he qualified for the 100 m at the 2009 World Championships in Athletics with a second-place finish in 9.97 s at the Jamaican national championships. At the Bislett Games on 3 July, Powell overcame a poor start to win the 100 m in a 10.07 s photo finish. Four days later he recorded the same time in winning the Athletissima 100 m. Although he improved his season's best to 9.88 s, he finished second to Tyson Gay at the Golden Gala Roma on 10 July. Powell next ran the 100 m at the International Meeting of Athletics' Sports Solidarity, a charity event that encourages the participation of disabled athletes, finishing third. At the 2009 World Championships in Athletics, Powell took bronze in the finals of the 100 m meet with a time of 9.84 seconds, while compatriot Bolt broke his own world record by running 9.58 seconds. Eight days later, on 22 August, Powell helped Jamaica claim gold in the 4 × 100 m relay by running the anchor leg. The time of 37.31 seconds set was a new Championship Record for the event.</s><s>

Asafa Powell

Biography and sprinting career.:2010–2011. Asafa Powell opened his 2010 season on 20 February at the UWI Invitational Meet in Jamaica by competing in the 400 m. He won his heat in a time of 47.56 s but was placed 3rd overall according to his time. He then ran the 200 m at the UTech Classic on 17 April 2010, also in his homeland. He competed in the 200 m in heavy rain and cold conditions. Powell opened up a huge lead in the first 100 m, after which he slowed drastically and won his heat in 21.27 s in a 1 m/s headwind. Later, it was reported that Powell had suffered minor cramps on his left calf muscles, which was why he had to slow down. Powell was next scheduled to run in the highly anticipated 4x100 m Penn Relays featuring Jamaica Yellow, and competing against Usain Bolt (Jamaica Black). However, he pulled out of the race as it was reported by his assistant coach that he had an injured toe, which would need some time to heal. At the IAAF Diamond League in Doha, Powell made a wind aided time of 9.75 s in the heat and 9.

Asafa Powell

81 s in the final, also wind-aided. He subsequently set a 100 m world leading time of 9.83 s. En route to this performance, he also set the rarely run 100 yards dash world best at 9.07 s, beating the previous record of 9.21 s set by Charlie Greene. Powell next competed at the DKF Bislett Games in Oslo, Norway, where he powered to a splendid victory with a wind-aided 9.72 s. A week later, he competed at the Golden Gala in Rome, Italy, where he overcame a very poor reaction time at the start to take another victory in a World Leading time of 9.82 s. It was reported that Powell ended his six-year contract with leading sports brand Nike due to sponsorship problems, and rumours spread that he has a new contract with fast upcoming Chinese sports brand Li-Ning. Asafa next competed in the 200 m of the Jamaican Senior Trials where he won the final in 19.97 s, his second fastest ever. There, for the first time, he promoted his new Li Ning outfit. Powell next competed in Gateshead where he got off to a terrific start but lost to fast finishing Tyson Gay, who took the victory

Asafa Powell

in 9.94 s to Powell's 9.96 s in a strong 1.7 m/s headwind. Powell was not very disappointed as he mentioned that he got too relaxed, thus allowing Gay to outdo him in the final strides. The next race in Paris against Usain Bolt was a disappointing one. Although he had a good start, Bolt caught him at halfway point, and Asafa began to lose his fluent running form. He finished 2nd to Bolt in 9.91 s, 0.07 s slower than his rival and also into a slight headwind. Asafa said that he had a very bad race, which he hoped to improve in his upcoming races. Unfortunately for Powell, there was not a 'next race' for him. He picked up strains from his Paris meeting, which aggravated to hamstring and back problems. Powell missed his next two outings where he was scheduled to clash against Bolt and Gay. Powell ended his splendid 2010 season on a disappointing note, even though he expressed satisfaction on the races that he competed for the year. Asafa opened his 2011 season on 16 April at the National Stadium in Kingston, Jamaica. He ran the 200 m where he came in third after what looked to be a good first 140

Asafa Powell

m, slowing down significantly at the last quarter of the race. His time was 20.55 s for the race behind Yohan Blake and Daniel Bailey. Powell ran his next race was the 4 x 100 m relay, USA vs The World, at the Penn Relays 2011, on 28 April. He ran the unusual first leg for Jamaica as he blasted off like a bullet to give Jamaica the lead. Jamaica won the event in a world leading time of 38.33 s, ahead of USA Red and USA Blue teams respectively. He stated after the run that he was in good shape, and looking forward to do great things in the year ahead. Powell next ran the 200 m at the Jamaica International Invitational Meet on 7 May. He looked promising in the first 120 m, after which he slowed down drastically, finishing in last place with a time of 21.40 s, in a race won by Jamaican Nickel Ashmeade. He later stated that he felt a minor pain in his hamstring, and backed off as a precaution, but insisted that it was nothing serious. In the second meeting of the 2011 IAAF Diamond League at Shanghai Golden Grand Prix, Powell won the 100 m with a time of 9.95 seconds. Powell next

Asafa Powell

ran at the IAAF Diamond League in Rome against Usain Bolt on 26 May. Powell had a superb start and mid, but he faded towards the end, only to allow the world record holder to surpass him in the final 10–12 m of the race. Bolt won in 9.91 s, and Powell came second in 9.93s. He said that he had lost focus, but is confident about beating Bolt after what he had done that day. Powell next competed in the IAAF World Challenge in Rabat, Morocco, in a low key meet. There, after running the first 20 m, he pulled up and finished last in 36.13 s, citing a precaution against a serious hamstring injury. Reports said that it was nothing serious, and he would be ready for the Jamaican Trials later in the month. At the Jamaican Trials 23–24 July, Powell looked impressive as he qualified through the rounds. He posted a season best of 9.90s in his semi-final, despite easing off in the final 1 5m. Later, after overcoming a bad start, Powell won the final to be titled National Champion for the fifth time in his career. He won in a time of 10.08 s into a 1.

Asafa Powell

8 m/s headwind. Yohan Blake and Steve Mullings were second and third respectively with only 0.01 s separating them. Next up for Powell was the Diamond League Athletissima in Lausanne on 30 June. In chilly conditions not ideal for sprinting, the former world record holder bulleted out of his blocks and ran to the tape, recording a world-leading 9.78 s with a following wind of 1.0 m/s. Powell was indeed happy with his strong performance, his fastest in three years, and full of confidence about the rest of the season and IAAF World Championships in Daegu, South Koreaa in late August. Next up for Powell was the IAAF Diamond League Meeting in Birmingham, England on 10 July. He became the first man in history to break the 10 seconds barrier in the Sir Alexander Stadium when he clocked a very easy looking 9.95 s in his heat. Later, in the final, he eased to a 9.91 s victory where compatriots Nesta Carter and Michael Frater finished second and third respectively. Powell was satisfied with both his races, stating that he took both the races easy due to very chilly and rainy conditions. Asafa seemed more and more confident heading

Asafa Powell

into the World Championships in late August. Powell next competed on 30 July in Budapest at the Hungarian Grand Prix. He ran 9.90 s in his heats and eased through the final to win in 9.86 s, having followed winds of 1.8 m/s and 2.0 m/s respectively, in cold conditions. Powell was next slated to run the Aviva London Grand Prix, but he pulled out, citing a groin strain. Later in late August, just a couple of days before the start of the World Championships in Daegu, Powell shocked the world by pulling out of the highly anticipated 100 m as his groin strain was re-aggravated and did not allow him to compete. Powell expressed great disappointment but vowed to come back strong for the London Olympics in 2012, but still hoped to run the 4x100 m relay in Daegu. However, he was unfit to run the relay and had to watch his compatriots win gold in a world record time of 37.04 s. Powell competed in the 100 m at the Diamond League Final in Zurich on 9 September. He looked very impressive in the first 60 m, but faded to second place as newly crowned world champion, Yohan Blake, took victory in

Asafa Powell

9.82 s. Powell registered a 9.95 s run, which was impressive given the fact that his injury was still present. By completing the race, the sprinter took the Samsung Diamond Trophy with $40,000 in cash. Powell ended his season with another injury, almost a repeat of year 2010, where he showed excellent form in the first half of the year but unfortunately suffered injuries.</s><s>Biography and sprinting career.:2010–2011.:2012 London Olympics. In a ceremony held on 24 February, Powell received the University of Technology (UTech) Chancellor's Medal as well as Diana, Princess of Wales Memorial Award International Ambassador role. He ran a personal best for the 60 metres at the Birmingham Indoor Grand Prix, setting a time of 6.50 seconds. On the 2012 IAAF Diamond League circuit, he was narrowly beaten by Justin Gatlin in Doha (runner-up in 9.88 seconds), then won the 100 m at the Shanghai Golden Grand Prix a week later. On 5 August 2012, Asafa Powell ran in the final of the 100 m race at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, United Kingdom. After back-to-back 5th-place finishes in Athens and Beijing, 2004 and 2008 respectively

Asafa Powell

, Powell had his most disastrous final yet when he finished dead last with a time of 11.99 seconds, pulling up after seeing others pulling ahead of him, but it was ultimately due to a persistent groin injury. Powell said:"It was my old groin injury that reoccurred. I felt it and it started to go. You never want to get injured, but it is a bit of a disaster when it happens in the Olympic final." Usain Bolt took the gold with Yohan Blake getting the silver and Justin Gatlin the bronze. As a result, Powell along with longtime rival Tyson Gay who finished 4th, remain as two of the three fastest men of all time to never have won any individual Olympic medals of any type. After the race, Jamaica's track and field manager Ludlow Watts lavished praise on Powell:Powell actually started this great change in our sprinting, and he's still a champion. Following the race, Powell had an ultrasound showing new tears in his adductor muscles as well as scar tissue in a previous injury. The groin injury appears to be season-ending as manager Paul Doyle believes he will miss the remainder of the year. "I don't think it looks good for the rest of the season for Asafa," he lamented

Asafa Powell

. Powell was not able to compete for Jamaica in the men's 4 × 100 m relay on 10 August. Powell released an apparel and accessories line branded "Sub 10 King" and many others, also opening up his personal website www.iamasafa.com for people's viewing and a platform to purchase his products.</s><s>Biography and sprinting career.:2010–2011.:2013-14 Suspension & Appeal. On 14 July 2013 Powell announced he had had tested positive for the banned drug oxilofrine in 2013 and withdrew from the 2013 World Athletics Championships as a result, but maintained that he did not take any banned supplements knowingly or willfully. Powell and fellow Jamaican sprinter, Sherone Simpson had taken the supplement Ephiphany D1 as part of their training regimen, not knowing it contained oxilofrine. It was later revealed that Acacia was substituted with oxilofrine, and not revealed by the manufacturer. The duo sued the company that sold the supplement, Dynamic Life Nutrition (DLN), in order to clear their names. Both Powell and Simpson reached an out of court settlement for an undisclosed amount in September 2015. After the settlement, Simpson released a statement stating: "Both Asafa and I are happy that we were able to settle

Asafa Powell

this out of court." In April 2014, the Jamaica Anti-Doping Commission suspended him for 18 months over doping charges, expiring in December that year. However, after he and Simpson appealed to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), the suspensions were reduced to the 6 months already served as CAS accepted the explanation that the offense was minor and due to contamination of the Epiphany D1 supplement.</s><s>Biography and sprinting career.:2010–2011.:2016 Rio Olympics. On 19 August 2016, Powell made a triumphant Olympic return, competing as part of the Jamaican 4 × 100 m men's relay team and winning a gold medal. After Jamaican team gold medal in 2008 Olympics were stripped, this medal win will be his only gold medal at Olympic Games.</s><s>Biography and sprinting career.:Physiology and running style. Despite Powell's size ( tall, weighing ), he has fast initial acceleration. In the Japanese sports Science institute in 2008, Asafa Powell was measured to have a small cross sectional area of his quadriceps tendon stretched with 114 kilograms of pull force, compared to sprinter Nobuharu Asahara's measurement of 59 kilograms, and the average mans as being 43 kilograms. Powell was also noted as having a

Asafa Powell

large Psoas major muscle in the Japanese sports science institute. Coupled with comparatively high stiffness in his ligaments and tendons, his long legs provide a long stride of 2.6 metres with rapid progression between each stride.</s><s>Personal life. Powell is deeply religious, citing his mother and father and his strict upbringing as the reason for this. In 2002, tragedy struck the Powell family when one of Asafa's brothers, Michael Powell, was shot dead in a taxi in New York. This emotional event happened the week of the Jamaica National Trials. In 2003, Asafa lost another brother during the week of the Jamaica National Championships. One year after the death of Michael, Vaughn Powell suffered a heart attack while playing a game of American football. In April 2007, Corey Reid, an uncle of Powell, was stabbed in Waterloo, Ewarton, St. Catherine. He later died in hospital. Powell married Canadian model Alyshia Powell in 2019. Powell has four children-two with his wife, Amieke Powell and Azhaf Powell and two from previous relationships, Avani Powell and Liam Powell. Powell is known to be occasionally shy but nonetheless good-natured and somewhat of a joker. He is good friends with compatriot, 100 and 200

Asafa Powell

-metre world record holder Usain Bolt. The two are often seen joking around and do meet off the track. Powell is an avid car enthusiast. Powell announced his retirement from Track and Field on November 23, 2022. He and his wife, Alyshia have successfully grown an online audience through The Powells Youtube vlog, which reached 100,000 subscribers in March 2023. They also recently launched The Fast Lane Lifestyle podcast, which the couple says is "a show about our life, raw and unfiltered". Powell will continue to further his business interests, vlogging, podcast, foundation and much more with his wife, Alyshia. Their fans from all over the world are looking forward to seeing what's next for the Powells!</s><s>Sponsorship. - Powell has been under contract with Nike since 2004, representing them in all his IAAF races, and agreed to appear in various advertising campaigns for the company. Nike designed and built the Zoom Aerofly shoes for him, which were used at the 2008 Beijing Games. However, Powell ended his contract with Nike in mid-2010, and signed up with leading Chinese sports brand Li Ning. He has signed with Puma in 2015. - GlaxoSmithKline, through its

Asafa Powell

energy drink Lucozade, has sponsored Powell since he first broke the 100 m World Record in 2005. They honoured his Beijing achievements in a small function in October 2008. - In January 2006, Powell signed as a global brand spokesperson for Nutrilite. Nutrilite products are sold through the Amway corporation. On 14 January 2009 Amway's Team Nutrilite ended the sponsorship agreement with Powell.</s><s>Accomplishments and major competition results.</s><s>Accomplishments and major competition results.:Competition record. - 60 metres 100 metres - 200 metres - 4×100 metres relay</s><s>Accomplishments and major competition results.:Miscellaneous accomplishment. - Sub-10.0 runs, Season (100 m) - Powell was the first man to have run legally under 10.00 seconds 15 times in a single season (2008). - IAAF World Athletics Tour wins Powell has recorded a total of 35 wins in IAAF Grand Prix events, 14 coming in Golden League events and 12 in IAAF Super Grand Prix events. In the seven-year history of the IAAF World Athletics Final (2003–2009), Powell won the most competitions of any male athlete and took home the most prize money in the male events. In his seven appearances at

Asafa Powell

the competition, he won the 100 m four times and 200 m once, winning US$173,000 in total. - Time progression in the 100 m</s><s>See also. - Athletics in Jamaica - Jamaica at the Olympics - Jamaica at the 2006 Commonwealth Games - World record progression 100 metres men</s>


Prompt: Question: Tell me a bio of Kevin Anderson (tennis).

Kevin Anderson (tennis)

<s>Kevin Anderson (tennis) Kevin Michael Anderson (born 18 May 1986) is a South African former professional tennis player. He achieved his career-high Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) ranking of world No. 5 on 16 July 2018. He was the first South African to be ranked in the top 5 since Kevin Curren was No. 5 on 23 September 1985. On 6 February 2011, Anderson defeated Somdev Devvarman in his hometown of Johannesburg to capture the South African Open title for his first ATP Tour-level title. His second ATP title came at the 2012 Delray Beach Open when he defeated Marinko Matosevic. Anderson won his third championship in 2015 at the Winston-Salem Open with a victory over Pierre-Hugues Herbert. He ended 2017 winning the exhibition World Tennis Championship. His fourth title came in February 2018 at the New York Open. Anderson reached his maiden Grand Slam final at the 2017 US Open, where he lost to Rafael Nadal.{{Cite news }} In the 2018 Wimbledon semifinals, Anderson reached his second major final by defeating American John Isner in the second-longest match in the history of major tournaments. The match, which lasted 6 hours and 36 minutes, was only beaten in length by

Kevin Anderson (tennis)

the 2010 match between Isner and France's Nicolas Mahut. He then lost to Novak Djokovic in the final in straight sets. On 3 May 2022, Anderson announced his retirement at age 35.</s><s>Early years. Anderson started playing tennis at age 6 and was competitive in 800-metre races at school. On the eve of their meeting in the finals at the 2017 US Open, it emerged that as a 12-year old, Anderson regularly competed against future world number one Rafael Nadal on the juniors circuit.{{cite web }}</s><s>Collegiate career. Anderson played three seasons of college tennis in the United States at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. He was a three-time All-American in singles and two-time All-American in doubles. During his sophomore year (2005–06), he won the national doubles championships with playing partner Ryan Rowe.{{cite web }} In 2007, Anderson led Illinois to a runner-up team finish, losing to host Georgia on their home courts. In the championship dual match, Anderson lost at #1 singles to future ATP top-ten player, John Isner. During the singles tournament, Anderson lost in the semifinals to eventual two-time national champion, Som

Kevin Anderson (tennis)

dev Devvarman of Virginia. In doubles, Anderson and partner, Ryan Rowe, fell short of repeating as champions, losing in the championship match to Marco Born and Andreas Siljeström of Middle Tennessee State in three sets, after having a couple match points.</s><s>Professional career highlights.</s><s>Professional career highlights.:2003–2007: Early career. At age 17, Anderson entered his first professional tournament, winning four main-draw matches in the four-week tournament to earn a world ranking of No. 1178 from his only tournament of the year. He also finished the year with a doubles ranking of No. 902. In November, Anderson entered his third pro tournament and won the Botswana F1 to push his ranking to No. 769. He followed that up the next two weeks in South Africa, reaching the final in F1 and the semifinals in F2 to finish the year ranked No. 665 in singles from just 3 tournaments. At age 19, Anderson continued to play at the Futures level, exclusively in the United States, reaching the semifinals of USA F21 in August. In November, he played his first Challenger event in Champaign, qualifying and beating No. 192 Jan-Michael Gambill in the first round. He

Kevin Anderson (tennis)

finished the year ranked No. 766. In 2005, Anderson played his first pro tournaments of the year in June, again in the United States, reaching the finals of USA F13 and F21. He returned to Champaign again in November, beating No. 107 Kevin Kim to reach his first Challenger quarterfinal. He finished the year ranked No. 517. In doubles, he won a pair of USA Futures back to back in June and finished the year ranked No. 530. In 2006, Anderson again waited until June to play his first tournaments. He repeated as a finalist in USA F12, and then won USA F13 before qualifying two weeks later in the Winnetka Challenger and reaching the final to push his ranking to No. 310. He recorded his first win over a top-100 opponent in the qualifying for the ATP tournament in New Haven, beating No. 88 Chris Guccione, before losing in the main draw to No. 41 Arnaud Clément. In September 2007 in the Challenger in New Orleans, he needed to qualify to make the main draw in both singles and doubles, and won all 13 matches that week to take the singles and doubles titles, beating four top-200 singles players and the top three seeded doubles teams

Kevin Anderson (tennis)

. His Challenger success in New Orleans helped him to career-high rankings at the end of 2007 of No. 221 in singles and No. 398 in doubles.</s><s>Professional career highlights.:2008: First Grand Slam entry. Anderson began 2008 with a bit of success, reaching the quarters of the Challenger in New Caledonia before qualifying in his first Grand Slam attempt in Australia. He lost in the main draw first round to No. 84 Alejandro Falla in 5 sets, but his efforts got his ranking to a career high of No. 190. At the 2008 Tennis Channel Open in Las Vegas, as a qualifier, he managed to defeat sixth seed Michaël Llodra in straight sets, 6–2, 7–6. In the second round he beat giant John Isner 7–6, 7–5. He beat Evgeny Korolev in his first ever ATP quarter-final 6–2, 6–0. In the semi-finals he won in straight sets against Robby Ginepri to reach his first ever ATP tour final. In the final, he fell to Sam Querrey in 3 sets. In the second round of the Sony Ericsson Open in Key Biscayne, Florida, he beat Novak Djokovic

Kevin Anderson (tennis)

for his first win against a top-10 player. At Wimbledon, Anderson and partner Robert Lindstedt of Sweden reached the quarterfinals before losing to the eventual tournament champions, Daniel Nestor and Nenad Zimonjić. Anderson also represented South Africa in the Beijing Olympics, defeating Komlavi Loglo before losing to Nicolas Kiefer 4–6, 7–6, 4–6 in the singles tournament and losing (with his partner Jeff Coetzee) to Nicolás Almagro and David Ferrer of Spain 6–3, 3–6, 4–6.</s><s>Professional career highlights.:2009: Victory at Sanremo Challenger. After a slow start to the year, he won the Sanremo Challenger in May, beating Blaž Kavčič in the final in three sets. At the Aegon Championships (Queen's Club, London), Anderson won three matches to qualify, and then defeated no. 57 Fabio Fognini in the first round of the main draw, before losing to no. 46 Sam Querrey in the second round.</s><s>Professional career highlights.:2010: 3rd Round at US Open and Canadian Masters. At Wimbledon, he was defeated by seventh seed Nikolay Dav

Kevin Anderson (tennis)

ydenko after winning the first two sets. Anderson advanced to the semifinals of the 2010 Atlanta Tennis Championships in July, upsetting fifth seed Janko Tipsarević in the first round. He qualified and reached the third round of the Rogers Cup in Toronto, beating Leonardo Mayer and Sam Querrey before losing to no. 1 Rafael Nadal. He then won his first Grand Slam match at the US Open over Somdev Devvarman in straight sets and backed it up with a five-set win over 26th seed Thomaz Bellucci.</s><s>Professional career highlights.:2011: First Career ATP title. He began the 2011 season by advancing to the semifinals of the Brisbane International Tournament, before losing to Andy Roddick in three sets. He then went on to lose in the first round of the Australian Open to Blaž Kavčič. At the SA Open, (Anderson's home event), he claimed his maiden ATP Tour title, by beating Indian Somdev Devvarman, rising 19 positions in the ATP rankings to a career high of No. 40. He reached a career-high of world no. 33 after making the quarterfinals of the 2011 Sony Ericsson Open. At the Atlanta Tennis Championships, Anderson reached the quarterfinals as the

Kevin Anderson (tennis)

second seed, defeating Michael Russell, before losing in straight sets to Gilles Müller. Next at the Legg Mason Tennis Classic, Anderson defeated Chris Guccione in the second round, before being defeated by Victor Troicki in the third round. At the 2011 Rogers Cup, he defeated Pablo Andújar in straight sets before beating an out-of-sorts Andy Murray in the second round with an easy victory.{{cite web }} He was defeated in the third round by Stanislas Wawrinka in a tight three set contest.</s><s>Professional career highlights.:2012: Second ATP title. Anderson opened 2012 with a third-round loss at the 2012 Australian Open. He followed it up with a win in Delray Beach, defeating qualifier Marinko Matosevic in the final. At the French Open, he reached a career-best third round, where he was defeated by seventh seed Tomáš Berdych in five sets.</s><s>Professional career highlights.:2013: Grand Slam 4th-round appearance. Anderson started the year at the Sydney International, where he reached the final, but lost to Australian Bernard Tomic in three sets. At the 2013 Australian Open, he defeated Fernando Verdasco in the third round, but lost

Kevin Anderson (tennis)

to Tomáš Berdych in the fourth round. This was his career best in any Grand Slam event. He played at Indian Wells, where he knocked out fourth seed David Ferrer. He reached the quarterfinals there before losing to Tomáš Berdych. He reached the fourth round of the French Open, before falling to Ferrer in straight sets. At Wimbledon, he lost in the third round to Berdych. He reached the final in Atlanta in July, but lost his third final of the year in three tiebreaks to John Isner.</s><s>Professional career highlights.:2014: Four wins against top-5 opponents. Anderson started the year by reaching the fourth round of the Australian Open, before being knocked out in straight sets by Tomáš Berdych. He then reached the final at Delray Beach, before losing to Marin Čilić in two tiebreaks. At the Mexican Open held in Acapulco, he again reached the final, losing to Grigor Dimitrov in three sets, with tiebreaks in the first and third sets. In the Indian Wells Masters, Anderson reached the quarterfinals, after beating third seed Stan Wawrinka in three sets. He lost to Roger Federer in straight sets.

Kevin Anderson (tennis)

At the 2014 Madrid Open, he beat Radek Štěpánek, before losing to Tomáš Berdych. He repeated his success of 2013 by again reaching the fourth round in the French Open, before losing to fifth seed David Ferrer in four sets. He then reached the quarterfinals of the AEGON Championships held at the Queen's Club, London, before losing to Radek Štěpánek. At the Wimbledon Championships he defeated Fabio Fognini to reach the fourth round, where he lost to Andy Murray. Anderson made it to the quarterfinals of the Masters 1000 event in Toronto after defeating Fognini and Stanislas Wawrinka. At the Cincinnati Masters, he had a disappointing first-round, straight-set exit at the hands of John Isner. He made it to the third round of the US Open, where he lost to eventual champion Marin Čilić. At the Paris Masters he again defeated Wawrinka to reach the quarterfinals, after which Tomas Berdych beat him. The South African ended the year no. 16 in the ATP year-end rankings.</s><s>Professional career highlights.:2015: Top-10 debut. Anderson

Kevin Anderson (tennis)

made the final in Memphis, losing to Kei Nishikori, but he made early exits in Estoril and Madrid. He then at Queen's Club made the final before being defeated by Andy Murray in straight sets. He again reached the fourth round at Wimbledon, where he led eventual champion Novak Djokovic two sets to love, taking both sets through tiebreakers. However, he was unable to sustain his form for the next three sets and eventually lost the match in five sets. Anderson became the champion of the ATP 250 in Winston-Salem, earning his third career singles title. Anderson's big moment came in the US Open, where he defeated Andy Murray, advancing to his first quarterfinals in a Grand Slam after seven attempts. He won the first two sets, then lost the third set via tiebreaker, but after a fourth set, Anderson pulled away, winning the tiebreaker 7–0 and captured the victory. He would next face Stan Wawrinka, whom he had beaten the last four times they played, including once that year. This was their eighth match overall, but the first at Grand Slam level. Wawrinka levelled the head-to-head at 4–4, beating Anderson in straight sets, including a bag

Kevin Anderson (tennis)

el in the third. Following the US Open, Anderson traveled to Asia for the Japan Open, where he lost in the round of 32 to Gilles Müller. Despite this loss, he reached a career-high ranking of No. 10 on 12 October, the first South African tennis player in the top 10 in 18 years. He then traveled to Shanghai for the Shanghai Masters (tennis), where he was defeated in the quarterfinals by Jo-Wilfried Tsonga. This was followed by the Vienna Open, where he lost to Steve Johnson in the quarterfinals. Traveling to Basel next, he was defeated by yet another American in Donald Young in the Round of 16. He reached the third round in the 2015 BNP Paribas Masters, but failed to capitalise on a match point against Rafael Nadal.</s><s>Professional career highlights.:2016: Injury struggles. Anderson started his season at Auckland as the fourth seed. He defeated Robin Haase in the second round, but lost to Jack Sock in the quarterfinals, despite winning the first set. Anderson was then scheduled to play at the Chennai Open, but withdrew due to a left knee injury. Anderson exited the Australian Open early in the first round and was advised to take some time off to sort out

Kevin Anderson (tennis)

problems with his shoulder. He took the break and also had minor surgery on his ankle while he was out. Anderson then returned to Delray Beach as the top seed. He lost the first set of his match against Austin Krajicek in the first round and then retired before the second set. Anderson did not play again on tour until May at the Madrid Open. He lost in the first round against 13th seed Gaël Monfils. Anderson then played in Rome as the 16th seed. Anderson won his first-round match against Feliciano López, but lost in the second round to Juan Mónaco, despite winning the first set. Anderson then competed in Nice as the third seed. He defeated qualifier Diego Schwartzman, before losing to fifth seed João Sousa. Anderson then played at the French Open as the 18th seed, where he lost in the first round to Stéphane Robert. Anderson started his grass season at Queen's Club. Since he entered late, he had to go through qualifying. Anderson defeated Edward Corrie and Jiří Veselý, both in straight sets, to enter the main draw. He then lost to Bernard Tomic in the first round of the main draw. Anderson then

Kevin Anderson (tennis)

played at Nottingham as the top seed. He defeated Ivan Dodig and 14th seed Fernando Verdasco to reach the quarterfinals, where he lost to sixth seed and eventual champion Steve Johnson. Anderson then played at Wimbledon as the 20th seed. He lost in the first round to Denis Istomin, despite winning the first two sets. Anderson played at the Citi Open as the ninth seed. He lost in the second round to Malek Jaziri, despite winning the first set. Anderson then played in the Rogers Cup. He won his first-round match against Viktor Troicki. He then defeated sixth seed Dominic Thiem because Thiem had to retire. He then reached the quarterfinals after he defeated 12th seed Bernard Tomic for the first time. Anderson, however, lost to Stan Wawrinka in straight sets. The US Open saw his best performance in a Grand Slam for the year, defeating both Yoshihito Nishioka and Vasek Pospisil in straight sets, before bowing out to Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in the third round, also in straight sets.</s><s>Professional career highlights.:2017: US Open final. 2017 was a better year for Anderson, despite a slow start. He began the

Kevin Anderson (tennis)

year at the Memphis Open in February, where he lost in the first round to Bosnian Damir Džumhur. He also lost in the first round of the Delray Beach Open to resurgent Juan Martín del Potro. In March, he made it to the second round of Indian Wells, where he lost to Steve Johnson. In Miami, he again made it to the second round, where he was defeated by Kei Nishikori. In Houston, he played doubles with Sam Querrey, making it to the semifinals before losing to Dustin Brown and Francis Tiafoe. He then traveled to Barcelona, where he got past Carlos Berlocq and David Ferrer, losing in the third round to eventual champion Rafael Nadal. In May, he defeated Richard Gasquet in the quarterfinals of Estoril, before succumbing to an in-form Gilles Müller in the semifinals. He had to go through qualifying in Rome, only to lose in the first round to eventual champion Alexander Zverev. He then traveled to Geneva, where he made it to the quarterfinals, falling again to Kei Nishikori in three tight sets. At the French Open, he had to retire from his fourth-round match against Marin �

Kevin Anderson (tennis)

�ilić. Anderson was back in action on the grass-court swing, making it to the second round of Eastbourne, where he lost to Richard Gasquet. At Wimbledon, he made it to the fourth round before falling to Sam Querrey in five sets. He had his best result at the Citi Open in Washington, where he defeated Dominic Thiem in the second round and Jack Sock in the semifinals to earn a runner-up finish against Alexander Zverev. Anderson also made the quarterfinals in Montréal, again falling to Zverev. After losing in the first round in Cincinnati, he withdrew from Winston-Salem. Anderson reached the quarterfinals at the 2017 US Open and defeated Sam Querrey in four sets. He defeated Pablo Carreño Busta in the semi-finals. In his first ever Slam final, he lost to Rafael Nadal in three sets.</s><s>Professional career highlights.:2018: 4th & 5th ATP titles, Wimbledon final, World No. 5. Anderson began his year at the 2018 Maharashtra Open in Pune, India. He reached the final, but fell 6–7, 2–6 to Gilles Simon. His next endeavor was at the 2018 Australian Open, where he

Kevin Anderson (tennis)

lost his first match in five sets to eventual semifinalist Kyle Edmund, despite being two sets up to one. The inaugural New York Open, his third tournament of the year, yielded his first tournament win of 2018. All of his matches went to three sets; his path to the final included beating American rising star Frances Tiafoe and 2014 US Open finalist Kei Nishikori. He defeated American Sam Querrey in three sets. The win propelled him back into the top 10 since 2015 to be World No. 9, a new high.{{cite web }} This was followed up by his participation in the Mexican Open at Acapulco, where he beat Hyeon Chung in the quarterfinals. He reached the final but lost 4–6, 4–6 to Juan Martín del Potro. He reached the quarter-finals at the first two Masters 1000 events of the year, Miami and Indian Wells, losing to Borna Coric and Pablo Carreño Busta respectively, both times in a third set tiebreak. At the French Open, Anderson lost to the 5'7" Diego Schwartzman in the fourth round. Schwartzman broke Anderson's serve nine times, the most times Anderson had ever been broken in one match.

Kevin Anderson (tennis)

{{cite news }} At Wimbledon, Anderson was seeded eighth. He defeated Norbert Gombos, Andreas Seppi, 25th seed Philipp Kohlschreiber, and Gaël Monfils to reach his first quarterfinal at the tournament, where he faced eight-time champion, defending champion, and top seed Roger Federer. Federer dominated the match early, quickly claiming the first two sets and holding match points in the third. However, Anderson came back to upset Federer in what became a four-hour, five-set epic, winning 13–11 in the fifth set. He then faced John Isner in the semifinals, in what became the second longest match in Grand Slam history and the third longest men's singles match ever, lasting 6 hours and 36 minutes, ending 7–6, 6–7, 6–7, 6–4, 26–24. This was also the longest semifinal match in Grand Slam history. By reaching the final, Anderson became the first South African player to reach the Wimbledon men's singles final since Kevin Curren in 1985. He then lost to Novak Djokovic in the final in straight sets, despite having five set point chances in the third. However, with this run to

Kevin Anderson (tennis)

the final, he rose to a new career high of World No. 5. Anderson saw a strong start to the hard court season at the Rogers Cup, defeating fifth seed Grigor Dimitrov in the quarterfinals before losing in three close sets to Stefanos Tsitsipas in the semifinals. At the US Open, he was seeded fifth, defeating Ryan Harrison, Jeremy Chardy, and 28th seed Denis Shapovalov, being defeated by ninth seed Dominic Thiem in straight sets in the fourth round.</s><s>Professional career highlights.:2019: Sixth ATP title. Anderson began his season at the Maharashtra Open in Pune. He defeated Laslo Đere, seventh seed Jaume Munar, third seed Gilles Simon, and Ivo Karlović to win the title. At the Australian Open, Anderson was seeded fifth. He defeated Adrian Mannarino in four sets before being upset by Frances Tiafoe in the second round. Anderson was seeded fifth at Indian Wells but withdrew due to a right elbow injury. He was then seeded sixth at the Miami Open and progressed into the quarterfinals, where he was defeated in straight sets by in-form and eventual champion Roger Federer.</s><s>Professional career highlights.:2020: Right knee surgery. At the

Kevin Anderson (tennis)

2020 Australian Open, Anderson lost to Taylor Fritz in five-sets. In February, he underwent surgery on his right knee for a torn meniscus.</s><s>Professional career highlights.:2021: Seventh ATP title and 350th ATP tour win. Kevin Anderson rebounded from his knee surgery and won his 7th ATP title at the Hall of Fame Tennis Championships by defeating Jenson Brooksby 7–6, 6–4. The championship victory marked his 350th win on the ATP tour.</s><s>Professional career highlights.:2022: Retirement. Anderson announced his retirement from professional tennis on 3 May 2022. He ended his singles career ranked No. 107. He played his last singles match at the 2022 Miami Open where he fell in a tough three sets to Juan Manuel Cerundolo as a lucky loser.</s><s>Personal life. Anderson married his college girlfriend, golfer Kelsey O'Neal, in 2011, and they bought a home in Delray Beach, Florida. His daughter, Keira, was born in September 2019. He is a permanent resident of the United States. Anderson plays the guitar and is a fan of the British rock band Dire Straits and Mark Knopfler.</s>