South African Kevin Anderson has broken into the top 15 of the tennis world rankings, placing a best ever 14th in the world following his successful run to the final of the Aegon Championship in London at the weekend.

Anderson did very well to reach the final of the ATP tournament at Queen’s Club in on Sunday, but Scot Andy Murray defeated the South African 6-3, 6-4 in the ultimate encounter, denying him the title.

The 2-metre tall South African defeated Stanislas Wawrinka in the round of 16 with two tie-breaks, 7-6(4) 7-6(11), allowing him to move on to the quarter-finals of the competition, where he beat Spaniard Guillermo Garcia-Lopez in straight sets 7-6, 7-5.

The victory saw him progress to the semi-finals in London, where he was able to overcome Gilles Simon of France 6-3, 6-7 (6), 6-3 on Saturday. That result set him up for a title showdown with Murray, but the Scottish star was in scintillating form, and did not allow Anderson to produce a winning performance.

His progression all the way to the final led to his impressive move up the rankings with Wimbledon only a few days away. Anderson’s previous best was 17th in the world, which he recorded in January this year.

Tennis South Africa (TSA) confirmed that Anderson will make himself available for the South African Davis Cup side if a corporate sponsor is found to help with expenses for the team.

Anderson would need to be involved in Davis Cup action this year and next in order to qualify to represent South Africa at the Rio Olympics.

“We have until 10 days before the tie to name our team to play Ireland according to Davis Cup rules and are doing all we can to secure a sponsor for Kevin to secure him as part of the team,” confirmed Gavin Crookes, President and acting CEO of TSA, according to SportFire.