Jones has worked with Anderson for the past 15 months, as he has improved his ranking from 37 to a high of 19 late last year. Despite their success, the 27-year-old Jones has decided to walk away, opting to pursue a corporate career with an accounting firm, but he looks back on the experience with pride.
"It's been a big challenge in that, when giving advice, you know that the stakes are very high," Jones said. "But it has been an incredible thrill to play a small role in the success of someone at the highest level and in a sport that I love so much."
There is still a lot of mystery about tennis coaches. We still don't know much about the life of the people who sit courtside, encouraging, imploring and supporting.
"The tennis tour is very unpredictable," says Jones. "There is always a different problem to be solved. You need to think creatively and quickly to solve whatever issue is at hand, whether it be a new opponent, a new issue with a stroke, a new injury, or being in a new environment."
Jones, the brother of former New Zealand Fed Cup representative Sacha, reached a career high of 604 and is probably best remembered for a memorable run at the 2008 Heineken Open.
Then ranked 1214 in the world, Jones won three qualifying matches to make history and reach the main draw, before being ousted by former Olympic champion Nicolas Massu. He got into coaching to help Sacha, then was approached by former US college team-mate Anderson in 2012.
It's been a stellar period. Anderson has reached three finals (Sydney, Atlanta and Casablanca) and has beaten higher-ranked players such as David Ferrer, Milos Raonic and Marin Cilic, among others. There were also less positive times - from August to the end of October last year, Anderson won only two matches, putting pressure on coach and athlete.
"A coach creates the most value in the rough periods," says Jones. "It's easy when things are going well. When a player has a poor patch of form, a coach must be creative to help the player continue to improve; [you must] provide the right support to get things back on track as quickly as possible. For me, those times are the most important and therefore the most interesting.
"Rather than causing tension, the tough times elicit more excitement than anything else."
During the past year, Jones has helped devise game plans as his charge takes on giants of the sport, sitting in the locker room watching opponents such as Roger Federer, Juan Martin del Potro, Tomas Berdych and Ferrer take the court against Anderson.
"You prepare just like against any other opponent," explains Jones. "[You need to] focus first on being prepared yourself, and then understand what subtle adjustments you can expect to need to make versus that particular opponent.
"The highlights for me have been on the practice court at home in Auckland or at Kevin's home in Florida where the ideas for improvement have been implemented. To then see that work translate to success at major tournaments is very special."
Anderson, 27, has been a late developer on the ATP tour - as a 21-year-old, he was ranked in the 200s and sat around the top 100 for many years. But he has been established in the top 30 since last March and Jones expects him to stay there.
"I think he belongs firmly in the top 10," says Jones. "I think Kevin's success has been mostly due to increased experience and comfort at competing with the top players. I would expect him to continue to improve as his experience grows over the next few years."
Anderson withdrew from the Brisbane International last week due to a stomach virus but is expected to be fit to play in Auckland this week, where he has not progressed past the first round in two appearances.
As a top four seed, he has a bye into the second round where he will face either Marcos Baghdatis or Daniel Brands.
Meanwhile, Jones has no regrets about swapping the tennis racquet for a suit and tie.
"I became a tennis coach not with career intentions but to have a positive influence in the life of, first, my sister and then one of my closest friends," says Jones. "Feeling like I have made those contributions makes it a lot easier to walk away."
