South Africa’s Kevin Anderson has attributed mental conditioning for his ability to focus for nearly seven hours during his epic Wimbledon semifinal against American John Isner.

Achieving a career-high ATP ranking of 5 in the wake of his SW19 final appearance, Anderson has reached the peak at an age when most players are trending downwards.

His record-breaking match against Isner, six hours and 35 minutes long, was the culmination of rigorous mental and physical preparation, thanks in large part to Florida-based mental coach Alexis Castorri.

Therapist Castorri, of Fort Lauderdale, has also worked with Andy Murray and Simona Halep, who won her first Grand Slam title at the fourth time of asking.

Anderson credits his psychologist for his recent surge in form and strongly advocates the value of putting mental work and visualization into practice.

“My dad, Mike, who coached me when I was growing up, was big into the mental side of sport. He always spoke about believing in yourself more than anything,” Anderson reveals to KweséESPN.

Anderson adds, “As I carried on in my career, I paid more attention to that and working with Alexis has been great. My focus is now on how I can become an even better mental competitor because that is what it really boils down to. It’s about being able to hit the ball really well in the big moments, regardless of who your opponent may be and what is going on out there. I feel I’m constantly getting better in that department and it’ll be a focus of mine going forward.”