SA tennis ace Kevin Anderson exits Hall of Fame Open at quarter-final stage

South Africa's Kevin Anderson was eliminated at the quarter-final stage of the Hall of Fame Open in Newport, Rhode Island on Thursday.

Anderson was beaten 6-4, 6-2 by Frenchman Ugo Humbert at the grass-court event he won in 2021.

Anderson, 37, retired from tennis in May 2022, but accepted a wild card entry into the ATP 250-level event. 

Anderson performed well upon his return to the ATP Tour with earlier victories over Canada's Gabriel Diallo (6-3, 6-2) and Dutchman Gijs Brouwer (6-3, 7-6).

But Humbert proved too solid, breaking the tall South African's serve four times.

Allez! ???Humbert into his second Newport SF ending Anderson's return to the tour #InfosysHallofFameOpen pic.twitter.com/lf3rtPVwVc

Humbert will now face compatriot and second-seed Adrian Mannarino, who shook off a second-set lapse to beat Australia's Jordan Thompson 6-0, 6-7 (7/4), 6-2.

Mannarino led 6-0, 5-2 but ended up labouring for almost three hours to make his way into the final four.