Illinois men’s tennis player Kevin Anderson will forgo his senior season to pursue his professional tennis career, head coach Brad Dancer announced today. Anderson, who had amazing success on the United States Tennis Association Challenger and Futures circuits this summer, added to his accomplishments by qualifying for his first ATP Tour event at New Haven the last of nine tournament stops during the 2007 US Open Series.

“Hands down this had been the toughest decision I have ever had to make,” Anderson said. “In the end, I had to take the team aspect out of the equation. If I had factored in the guys and the coaches, it would never have been a question of if I was leaving. But at the end of the day, I had to just think about the tennis and what was best for my career. My tennis career is what I have been working towards and I felt like this was the best decision for me at this time in my life.”

The Illini junior is coming off a stellar 2007 collegiate season, leading the Illinois men’s tennis team to an NCAA runner-up performance. Anderson also was a semifinalist in the NCAA singles bracket and finished runner-up in the NCAA doubles draw with partner Ryan Rowe. A unanimous selection to the All-Big Ten team, Anderson was voted the Big Ten Player of the Year, named the 2007 ITA Player to Watch, was the Big Ten’s automatic singles and doubles qualifier to the NCAA Tournament and finished his career a three-time All-American in singles and two-time All-American in doubles.

“Over the last two years it has been a recurring question about me leaving early,” Anderson said. ”I didn’t feel ready the past couple of years, but I felt like my hard work over that time period has now paid off. Working with Brad has been amazing. He has really helped me improve my game on every level. I was just at a point in my life when I felt I was ready to take the next step in my career by playing full-time.”

The summer for the Johannesburg, South Africa native included appearances in three USTA tournament singles finals (USA F12, USA F13, Winnetka), winning his first American Futures singles crown at the 2007 Trius Technologies 15,000 USA F13 Futures event in Sacramento, Calif. His success propelled him to his highest career ranking of No. 310 in the world on July 9, and he currently sits at No. 346 heading into the final months of the US hard court season. Anderson, pairing with former Illini Ryler DeHeart, also appeared in one doubles final at the USA F13 Futures event in Sacramento.

The 2007 Big Ten Player of the Year is the fourth-highest ranked South African on the tour, and before his announcement, was the highest ranked collegiate player in the country.

In his most recent tournament at New Haven, Anderson battled into his first ATP main draw, defeating No. 1240 Luis Manuel Flores (Mexico) in the opening round of qualifying, 6-4, 6-3, before meeting No. 88 Chris Guccione of Australia in the second round. Facing his toughest opponent yet, Anderson remained calm and collected en route to a three-set upset of Guccione, 6-2, 6-7(11), 7-6(5), before dismissing No. 373 Cecil Mamiit of the Philippines in the third and final qualifying round, 7-5, 6-1.

From there, Anderson met No. 41-ranked Arnaud Clement of France in the first round, falling short in a 6-1, 6-4 setback at the hands of a former World top-10 player and 2001 Australian Open finalist.

“I was two spots out of making the qualifying tournament at the US Open, so now I have 2-3 weeks of just training,” Anderson said about his upcoming schedule. “After that, I have Challenger events in New Orleans, Lubbock, Texas and Tulsa, Okla. Until then, I will be making my base out of Champaign, so I will still be around to hit with the guys and keep up with Illinois tennis family.”

While becoming one of the most talented players Illinois has ever produced, Anderson is the only player not returning from a championship-hungry Illinois squad that that made the NCAA finals a year ago. The returning roster includes singles and doubles All-American Rowe, veteran seniors Ruben Gonzales and Brandon Davis, NCAA All-Tournament team selection junior Marc Spicijaric, sophomores Billy Heiser and Jordan Knue, and a talented incoming freshmen class of Calon Alpar, Connor Roth and Abe Souza.

“I am disappointed that Kevin is not returning but at the same time thrilled for him and his future,” Dancer said. “I am really looking forward to keeping tabs on Kevin’s professional career. He is a great player and has a lot in store for his future. But I know and believe in the end, his heart will always bleed Orange and Blue.”

Illinois tennis fans can keep track of Anderson and the rest of Illinois’ alumni on the professional tour as they gear up for the 2007 US Open by visiting fightingillini.com or atptennis.com in the coming weeks.

Qualifying has already begun at the fourth and final Grand Slam of the year, the US Open, taking place at the USTA Billy Jean King National Tennis Center in Flushing Meadows, N.Y.

Former Illini No. 205 Rajeev Ram, No. 242 Brian Wilson and No. 381 Ryler DeHeart all were in action in the qualifying singles first round. At time of release, Ram had suffered a first-round loss at the hands of No. 120 Paul Capdeville of Chile, 6-4, 6-4, while DeHeart was still awaiting the completion of his match set to return to court later this evening as he trails No. 357 Lester Cook of the United States 7-6(5), 5-6 in his opening-round match. Rounding out the scores, Wilson was victorious over No. 295 Grega Zemlja of Slovenia 6-4, 7-6(5) and will face No. 180 Bruno Echagaray of Mexico in the second round.

2003 NCAA Champion and former Illini No. 70 Amer Delic also will be in attendance, but due to his top-100 World ranking, he gained automatic entrance into the main draw. Delic will face 16th-seed Lleyton Hewitt of Australia in the first round beginning on Aug. 27. Doubles draws for the US Open, running Aug. 27-Sept. 9, will be announced on Sunday, Aug. 27.