South Africa’s rising tennis star, Lloyd Harris secured his place in a first-ever Grand Slam quarter-final at the US Open on Monday, and we’re cheering him on all the way!
The 24-year-old soared to victory after beating American Reilly Opelka 6-7, 6-4, 6-1, 6-3 in the round of 16. He will now face fourth seed Alexander Zverev for a spot in the semi-finals.
In a statement released by Tennis SA, Harris said that even though it was a “really tough match”, he is “super happy” and thinks that he “handled it well”.
He went on to say “I held my composure. I served really well throughout the match. All in all, I’m just very, very pleased and very relieved after that performance.”
According to Sport24, Harris is ranked a career-high No 46 in the ATP rankings, expressing that “I always knew I had the ability, I had the level. I never had a problem beating some of the top guys. But it was consistently playing at that level, which was a little bit more challenging for me.
“I think that’s something I’ve done a lot better throughout this season. It’s kind of showing right now. It’s reflecting that I’m getting a lot more big wins consistently. I’m just happy with the progress I’ve made in that regard.”
Watch it here:
The moment of Lloyd Harris’ tennis career.
The ?? reaches Round 4 in a Grand Slam for the first time. pic.twitter.com/P8cBORVvV2
— US Open Tennis (@usopen) September 5, 2021
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Picture: Supplied