Harrison cracks first ATP title

AMERICAN Ryan Harrison wept with relief after winning his first ATP World Tour title, beating Nikoloz Basilashvili, of Georgia, 6-1 6-4 in the final of the Memphis Open on Sunday.

After breezing through the first set, Harrison survived some nervous moments in the second, saving break points in each of his service games.

But he proved unbreakable in the clutch, digging out of trouble time and again before securing the title with an ace down the middle on the indoor hard court in Tennessee.

“I was overwhelmed with emotion there at the end of the match,” the 24-year-old from Louisiana said in a teary on-court interview.

Harrison, a former teenage prodigy who turned pro in 2007, had seen his form and ranking decline in recent years.