By Kevin Rademeyer, Sports Journalist.
Photo Credit: Tennis South Africa.
Lloyd Harris has been here before. The difference this time is how much ground he has had to cover just to get back.
South Africa’s top ranked men’s player, now down at 139 in the world, moved into the second round of the US Open on Sunday with a commanding 6 4, 6 2, 6 2 victory over American Jack Kennedy.
It took just one hour and 43 minutes.
After coming through three qualifying matches, Harris has now won four in a row in New York and, more importantly, is beginning to look like the player who once climbed to No 31 in the world.
The 29-year-old Capetonian has had to work for this opportunity. He beat Bernard Tomic 6 2 in the deciding set in his opening qualifying match, survived a 12 -10 deciding set tiebreak against No 15 qualifying seed Rocha, then completed his passage into the main draw with a straight sets victory over Ruiz.
At 18 years of age, Kennedy offered little resistance once Harris found his rhythm. The South African’s serve and heavy groundstrokes did the damage, and he closed out the match without dropping a set.
Now comes the bigger test.
Harris will face Stefanos Tsitsipas, who arrived in the second round with one of the more significant victories of the opening phase of the tournament, beating highly rated Frenchman Arthur Fils.
For Tsitsipas, It was evidence that a player who has spent much of the past few seasons questioning his form and confidence may be finding his way again. “It’s a big win for me,” Tsitsipas said. “It’s one of those victories that really enhances my game.”
The Greek has also made a significant change away from the court, with his father no longer coaching him. Tsitsipas said he needed a different voice and a calmer environment around his tennis.
“I used to be surrounded by a lot of chaos and noise,” he said. “It took me a long time to understand it and realise that I could no longer deal with that.”
He was equally candid about the effect his recent struggles had on his confidence. “It’s very easy to lose confidence, especially when you haven’t beaten the best players in a while,” Tsitsipas said. “It’s one of those moments you can remember and think: ‘I still have the game I’m looking for, I still have the shots, and the quality is still there.”
That makes the Harris match particularly interesting. Both men arrive with something to prove, although from very different starting points.
Harris has already shown what he can do at the US Open. In 2021, he reached the quarterfinals, the best Grand Slam run of his career. He also famously took a set from Roger Federer on Centre Court, in round one, at Wimbledon in 2019.
For much of the intervening period, however, injuries and inconsistent form have pushed him down the rankings. New York is offering him another route back.
Tsitsipas will provide a far sterner examination than Kennedy. The Greek has the pedigree and variety to test Harris’s big hitting, while Harris will know that his serve gives him a platform to make the match uncomfortable from the start. The match should take place on Wednesday, with full schedules still to be confirmed.
There is plenty else to keep an eye on as the third day unfolds, with Taylor Fritz, Coco Gauff, Elena Rybakina and Alexander Zverev among the leading names in action.
But for South African tennis, the focus is straightforward. Harris has done the hard part already. Four wins into his New York campaign, he has earned another shot on the biggest stage. He may go in as underdog, but he has nothing to lose, plus he has the South African DNA.