Lloyd Harris

[Damian]

Harris Serves Past Zapata Miralles In Mallorca

Spoiler:

After five months of hard work, Lloyd Harris tasted tour-level victory once again Monday at the Mallorca Championships.

The South African delivered a dominant serving performance to oust seventh seed Bernabe Zapata Miralles 6-2, 7-6(2) and reach the second round at the grass-court ATP 250. It was a first tour-level victory since January for Harris, who came through qualifying to reach the main draw in Spain.

“It’s never easy. I feel like my preparation for the match was boosted by playing some matches in qualifying,” said Harris, who won 89 per cent (33/37) of points behind his first serve. “Obviously, he’s been doing really well… Playing in Spain, in front of a Spanish crowd [who gave] good support to him. I’m happy I got through.”

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The former World No. 31 Harris missed the second half of 2022 after undergoing wrist surgery and has built his comeback gradually. The 26-year-old holds a 10-5 record for the season on the ATP Challenger Tour but arrived in Mallorca off the back of four consecutive defeats at tour-level.

With that streak now snapped, Harris’ next test in Mallorca is a maiden Lexus ATP Head2Head meeting with his fellow qualifier Roman Safiullin.

https://www.atptour.com/en/news/harris- ... 023-monday

[Damian]

[Damian]

[Barty]

[DUN I LOVE]

Trochę pecha miał Harris w CH, przegrał sporo meczów na styku, ale tym razem wreszcie się odbił. Dobrze, bo jeszcze by nie zarobił.

[Damian]

Harris, a qualifier, eliminated lucky loser Pavel Kotov 7-5, 6-2. The former World No. 31 will try to reach his first ATP Tour final since Dubai in 2021.

https://www.atptour.com/en/news/eubanks ... 3-thursday

[Damian]

[Damian]

[Damian]

Bhambri/Harris Win Mallorca Doubles Title On Team Debut

Spoiler:

Both players claim first ATP Tour trophy
Yuki Bhambri and Lloyd Harris continued the perfect start to their partnership by winning the Mallorca Championships doubles title on Saturday. Now 4-0 as a pair, the Indian-South African duo defeated Robin Haase and Philipp Oswald 6-3, 6-4 in the ATP 250 final, completing their run without losing a set.

The trophy is the first ATP Tour crown for both men across both singles and doubles. Only Harris had previously reached a tour-level final, twice in singles and once before in doubles.

"Definitely a lot of fun. We went in with no expectations I think this week," said the 30-year-old Bhambri. "We just enjoyed playing, took it match by match and had a great tournament. It's a great city, a great place and I really enjoyed playing here."

"We had so much fun out there," added Harris, 26, who became the first South African to win an ATP Tour title since Raven Klaasen last year in Seoul. "We really enjoyed it. I didn't even know I was going to play this week. For me, it's just all a bonus. Super stoked with the title."

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After knocking out fourth seeds Marcel Granollers and Horacio Zeballos in the quarter-finals and top seeds Santiago Gonzalez and Edouard Roger-Vasselin in the semis, Bhambri and Harris converted on four of six break points in their final victory. Aided by eight aces, they won 90 per cent of their first-serve points and faced just two break points, saving one.

Bhambri moved up to No. 58 in the Pepperstone ATP Doubles Live Rankings with the title, setting himself up for a new career high.

Haase and Oswald fell to 1-2 in ATP Tour finals as a team with the defeat.

https://www.atptour.com/en/news/bhambri ... bles-final

[Damian]

[Art]

[Damian]

[Damian]

South African qualifier Lloyd Harris rallied from a set down to beat Australian Jams Duckworth 3-6, 6-3, 6-2 after firing 18 aces. The former World No. 31, who is now outside the Top 200 after missing the final six months of the 2022 season following wrist surgery, recently pushed Christopher Eubanks to a third-set tie-break in the semi-finals of Mallorca.

https://www.atptour.com/en/news/kokkina ... 023-monday

[Damian]

[Damian]

[Damian]

[Damian]

[Damian]

[Damian]

Harris Trained With 15-Year-Old Alcaraz: 'This Is Problematic'

Spoiler:

South African reflects on his comeback from injuries
Lloyd Harris and his coach, Anthony Harris, used to visit Juan Carlos Ferrero’s academy in Spain to prepare for the clay-court season. The South African would train with a 15-year-old Spaniard named Carlos Alcaraz.

“I was practising every day with Carlos. He was already hitting the forehand way bigger than me and I was like, ‘This is problematic. He's 15,’” Harris told ATPTour.com. “I was still able to beat him in sets, that was nice. But I think since then, it's been incredible to see the journey and what he’s capable of. You have so many factors that come together there. It's unbelievable, what a talent.”

On Thursday, Harris will play Alcaraz in the second round of the US Open. It will be their first ATP Head2Head clash, and Harris has plenty of respect for the top seed.

“The speed on the forehand was just incredible. The heaviness, the speed. That was definitely [his strength] at the time,” Harris said. “Obviously now you could say a lot of things. I don't want to give the guy too many compliments. I don't want to burst his bubble, but he's incredible, obviously.”

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Harris has shown top-level tennis in his career, too. The former World No. 31 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings has earned three Top 10 victories and reached an ATP 500 final in Dubai two years ago. But ever since, injuries have held the South African back.

The biggest setback was when he tore the Triangular FibroCartilage Complex in his right wrist. He underwent surgery last June and did not play for the rest of the season after Roland Garros.

Things appeared positive when Harris won seven of nine ATP Challenger Tour matches to begin 2023 and then beat Lorenzo Musetti at the Australian Open.

“That was obviously a little bit of a dream start, playing really well the first couple of weeks, getting a big win in Australia,” Harris said. “But it hasn't quite been such a fairytale comeback after that. After Australia I played one more tournament, had to pull out and then missed almost three months again. And it's been tough.”

The 26-year-old’s wrist “has been amazing”. But given all the matches he played upon his return, other parts of his body began to act up, specifically with his glute and a nerve impingement issue.

“That was just a very difficult thing to get rid of. It's not just a muscle, it's a nerve thing,” Harris said. “It doesn't matter how much you treat it, it doesn't really want to go away. But now finally, it's kind of leaving me, so that's a good thing.”



Harris fell outside of the world’s Top 300 in May. But he has enjoyed some good results — like when he reached the semi-finals of the ATP 250 in Mallorca as a qualifier — and is up to No. 148 in the Pepperstone ATP Live Rankings.

“It's been okay, it hasn't been awful. It also just hasn't been great. But I think I have to be patient and build myself back gradually to where I was, and hopefully climb from there,” Harris said. “So just trying to be patient and trying to work on the game, work on the physical side. And I think it all will come together eventually. It is just about putting in the work and taking the time.”

Two years ago, Harris was playing the best tennis of his career and advanced to his first major quarter-final at the US Open. Because of performances like that, he knows what he is capable of.

“You have these sparks, and it feels like ‘Oh, I'm finding it’, and then it doesn't quite happen. But I think the fact that you know the level that you did play and that I was playing, it makes it a little harder to accept sometimes mentally when you're not quite able to find that,” Harris said. “In the end, if I look at my game and my shots, it's still there. I can still serve, I can still hit forehands, I can still hit backhands, I can still run. So it's just a bit tricky to put it all together in the same manner. But it's exciting to at least know that I'm still capable of doing it.”

Many players would be down after suffering from injuries and setbacks for an extended period of time. But Harris is choosing to look ahead and not dwell on the difficulties of the past.

“Look where I am, right? I'm at the US Open. I’ve got my family here. I’ve got my great team around. I'm still having a blast. I'm still enjoying being on Tour. I love what I do,” Harris said. “It's not been an easy year for me. Last year was probably even a harder year. But I'm looking forward to hopefully being on Tour for many years, so I'm looking forward to those big results, big wins. And we'll see what the future holds.

“But I think all of that just keeps me positive and keeps me going. It's not always easy. It’s not always possible to be positive. But for the most part, I think me and the people around me are trying to keep it as positive as possible.”

https://www.atptour.com/en/news/harris- ... 23-feature

[Barty]