DOUBTS DEFEATED
The last American to win this city’s annual ATP World Tour event needed a diving, forehand winner — an ESPN-worthy highlight in 2011 that left Andy Roddick with a bloody knee and elbow — to clinch the title. What American Ryan Harrison’s title Sunday lacked in Roddick’s dramatic flair, it made up for in heartfelt emotion.
Harrison’s 6-1, 6-4 victory over unseeded Nikoloz Basilashvili in the Memphis Open final at The Racquet Club was the first Tour title of the 24-year-old Harrison’s career. For someone who wasn’t certain last summer he’d be able to become a top-50 player again, much less a Tour champion, the win was confirmation he’s where he
belongs: on a tennis court, firing aces, blasting forehand winners and whipping two-handed backhand passing shots.
Moments after his ace ended the match, Harrison couldn’t hold back the tears as he thanked his family, coach and other supporters during the oncourt ceremonies.
“For me to be where I am now and where I was seven, eight months ago and feeling like there was no light at the end of the tunnel, it’s surreal,” Harrison said. “I honestly can’t believe it. It’s just so amazing to me.”
Last March, as Harrison struggled to find answers, he dropped to No. 168 in the world, or 125 spots lower than his career high of No. 43 four years earlier. In 2014, he had dipped to 197. Sunday’s title will move Harrison, who was ranked No. 62 entering the tournament, back to roughly his career-high ranking.
The unseeded Harrison, playing in his first career ATP Tour final, took advantage of Basilashvili’s rash of unforced errors to easily win the opening set. Harrison saved two break points in the first game and got breaks of Basilashvili to go up 3-1 and 5-1.
In the second set, Harrison survived a shaky service game. He faced break points in each of his five service games and faced two in the final game, but saved both and ended the match with his ninth ace.
As the ball zipped past Basilashvili — a native of Georgia (the country) — Harrison dropped his racket and threw both hands up in the air.
“He played amazing,” Basilashvili said. “He deserved to win this tournament, for sure.”
Winning in Memphis carried a special meaning for Harrison, who grew up in Shreveport, Louisiana. His father, Pat, played at Ole Miss and took Ryan to his first pro tournament, at The Racquet Club, in the early 2000s.
“I’ve always remembered Memphis,” said Harrison, who lives in Austin, Texas. “The first year I played as a player I could have walked through this club with my eyes closed because I knew it so well.”
Amazingly, Harrison saved all 10 of the break points he faced in the second set and each of the 12 he encountered in the match.
“Even when I wasn’t playing my best tennis, I’ve always had a lot of confidence in my serve,” Harrison said. “It’s actually the one thing that kept me inside of 150, 120 in the world when I was playing, by my standards, not well.”
Basilashvili said for the first time during the tournament he lacked the energy that had carried to him to backto-back Tour semifinals. He reached the semifinals in Sophia, Bulgaria, before coming to Memphis, and like Harrison, was seeking his first Tour title at age 24.
“From the first set, I couldn’t find any rhythm,” Basilashvili said. “I was not going for my shots, I was playing (cautious). I don’t know why I was doing that.”
Basilashvili said he had his chances in the second set, with all the breakpoint chances, “but the energy was not there, I missed a lot of opportunities. It hurts so much, but what can you do? It’s tennis, so you move forward from and learn from this and (use it as motivation) for the next matches.”
Harrison won his second straight tournament, the first being a non-Tour level event in Dallas earlier this month. As he did at the Memphis Open, Harrison did not drop a set at the Dallas Challenger.
The confidence he gained by winning the Challenger, one level below the ATP Tour, carried over in Memphis, which included an early round upset of No. 3 seed Sam Querrey and ended with Sunday’s tearful celebration.
“It was a lot nicer and fun to win it in front of a group of people who drove up from your hometown and have known you since you were 5 years old,” he said. “Sometimes people win their first title somewhere around the world where they don’t know people.
“When you are winning (a title) in front of family and friends and people who have come out and supported you since you were winning tournaments in Shreveport as a 10 and 12 year old ... it definitely means a lot.”
BAKER, MEKTIC WIN DOUBLES: Nashville native Brian Baker, teaming with Croatia’s Nikola Mektic, won the Memphis Open doubles title with a 6-3, 6-4 win over Harrison and Steve Johnson. Baker, 31, was playing in the first Tour doubles final of his career. Harrison was attempting to sweep the singles and doubles titles, which would have been a first in Memphis since Sam Querrey accomplished the feat in 2010.
Sunday’s singles final was pushed back two hours after Harrison and Johnson won a late Saturday doubles semifinal, the change mandated to give Harrison proper rest before he played the singles final.