PARIS: Injury-plagued Kevin Anderson is hoping the hamstring strain which forced him to quit the French Open is just a "hiccup" which won't impact his Wimbledon build-up.
The 31-year-old South African was 6-3, 3-0 down to seventh seed Marin Cilic in his Roland Garros fourth round match Monday when he retired.
The hamstring injury is the latest in a worrying line of physical setbacks which have stalled his career.
Anderson was a top 10 player in 2015 before a shoulder injury and ankle surgery saw his ranking slump to 80 in the world.
"It's a little hiccup in the road right now. Hopefully I can get back at it as soon as I can," said Anderson.
The Johannesburg-born player was bidding to reach the last eight in Paris for the first time and had been enouraged by a solid clay court run-up.
He was a semi-finalist in Estoril, made the quarters in Geneva and third round in Barcelona where it took Rafael Nadal to stop him.
Now he turns his attention to the grass court season and Wimbledon next month.
That campaign is due to start in qualifying for Queen's in London in two weeks' time.
"I'm actually just in the process now of speaking with doctors, getting some scan results back just to get an assessment of what is going on," he explained.
"It's going to be a quick turnaround. So fingers crossed I'll be ready. Again, it might be a tough decision.
"Queen's is one of my favourite events of the year. So right now, I can't really think too far ahead. I certainly hope to be ready as soon as I can."
Cilic will be playing in his first French Open quarter-final.
He is the first Croatian man in the last eight since Mario Ancic and Ivan Ljubicic in 2006.
Cilic will face third seed and 2015 champion Stan Wawrinka for a place in the semi-finals.