An ‘amazing night’ for Harris as he reaches fourth round
SOUTH Africa’s Lloyd Harris is on the cusp of a career breakthrough of epic proportions after he soared into the US Open fourth round with an upset third-round 6-4, 6-4, 6-4 win over Canada’s World No 10 and seventh seed Denis Shapovalov in New York on Saturday.
Shapovalov became the second high-profile player to be ousted at Flushing Meadows at the hands of Harris, who at the outset was seen as a dangerous floater in the men’s draw.
Harris started the year languishing in the 90s on the world ranking, but is now 35 on the live rankings after his Shapovalov conquest.
In the first round, Harris eliminated the 25th seeded Russian Karen Khachanov after trailing by two sets.
Harris faces lanky American Reilly Opelka today.
On Saturday, Harris needed one service break to claim the opening set 6-4 after 43 minutes.
He suffered an early second-set setback after he dropped serve in the second game, and Shapovalov went on to build a 3-0 lead. Harris fought back bravely to break Shapovalov in the fifth and ninth games before closing out 6-4 after 46 minutes.
At the start of the third, Harris was
again slow off the mark. Shapovalov raced ahead 2-0 after claiming a break in the second game.
Harris broke back straight afterwards and added another break in the ninth game. Moments later, he held serve at 40-30 and ended the 133-minute contest to book his ticket for a maiden fourth-round appearance at a grand slam.
“It was an amazing night, with such an amazing atmosphere,” said Harris. “I don’t have many words to describe my feelings.
“The fourth round is obviously a major accomplishment for me – it is my first one ever. Now I’m just looking forward to the next match. I cannot wait to be back.
“Everything is just kind of coming together this season. I feel very confident in my game. I’m serving well, playing well, and I just want to keep that momentum going.”