Timmy T Maranda
It went down to a tie-breaker, but South African tennis star Lloyd Harris has caused a major upset by dumping 17 seed Bulgarian Grigor Dimitrov out of the Mutua Madrid Open.
Harris, who has the big match temperament of a giant, advances to the second round of this ATP Masters event.
He won the tie-break 7-6, fighting back from 2-3 down.
The 24 year old has had a golden year so far, making it a 4-0 run against the top 20 seeds.
Harris won the first set 6-3, then lost the second 3-6 after taking time-out for lower back pain. Then, when it really mattered, he put his head down and won the third 7-6.
Harris admitted that it was a difficult match.
“Grigor is a very tough opponent and he doesn’t give you much,” said Harris.
Next, he faces 24th ranked Alex de Minaur, who comes from Australia, in the second round of the Madrid Open on Tuesday.
The Capetonian was also impressive in the Miami Open earlier this year, where he earned his first ATP 1000 Masters Open level win against Emilio Nava, before injury forced him out.
His sublime form also saw him reach the final of the recent Dubai Championship where he lost to Russia’s Aslan Karatsev, a performance which moved him higher up in the ranking.
Picture source: @TennisSA
