Anderson makes ATP return with win in Newport

South Africa's Kevin Anderson made his ATP Tour return at International Tennis Hall of Fame in Newport on Tuesday.

Anderson defeated Canada's Gabriel Diallo 6-3, 6-2 in two straight sets.

Anderson retired from tennis in May 2022, but accepted a wild card entry into the ATP 250 event.

The 37-year-old was helped by 11 aces in the victory and won 92 percent of his first serve points.

"Coming back now, honestly, there's a lot of uncertainties," Anderson said prior to his win as quoted by the ATP Tour website.

"I don't have a ranking, I'm relying on potentially getting a few wild cards during the summer. So I'm going to come out and compete, for sure. But to be honest, the result isn't my primary goal.

"The primary goal is really to learn through this process. There'll be a lot of different challenges to face along the way that I'm really kind of keeping my eyes focussed on and there's a lot of experiences that you come across and as much as you can keep learning from them, I think that's one of the keys.

"That's what I try to do, so that's what I'll be doing as much as I can as long as I have some opportunities to keep playing."

Anderson will next play Dutchman Gijs Brouwer in a Round of 16 encounter on Wednesday.

First win in 17 months ?@KAndersonATP through to R2 with a clinical 6-3 6-2 performance on his return to tennis!#InfosysHallOfFameOpen pic.twitter.com/tqbqr1p0vA