Players aiming for their maiden championship titles this year - Part Two: Ryan Harrison – Tennis Special
All say that the voyage to glory starts as soon as a player wins his maiden championship title but it’s easier said than done. Battling the top-ranked players in a competitive field and outmuscling them to win a tournament is certainly
an achievement of sorts but obviously the road to magnificence needs persistent hard work and unmatchable skills. Let’s carry on our review of looking at the talented youngsters striving hard to make their lace among the top class tennis professionals.
As I was talking about the future prospects of the tennis legacy in America in the Part One, another fast rising youngster from Austin, Texas, cannot be ignored. The 19-year-old tennis prodigy, Ryan Harrison, it deemed to be the
next American number one, for his unmatchable talents at such small age.
With the lime light of Andy Roddick fading and current American number one, Mardy Fish, entering his 30’s, the American tennis is frantic to find a new hero and saviour of its legacy. Harrison’s remarkable performances in the past
year have given a huge hope to the American tennis fans but the crafty right-hander is yet to win his maiden championship title.
Harrison has been very successful on the ATP (Association of Tennis Professionals) Challenger Tour but has been struggling to make an impact on the more elite platform, the ATP World Tour. The American teenager won his first Challenger
championship last year in Honolulu, beating Alex Kuznetsov in a stiff three-setter to claim the triumph.
The young American took off his 2011 ATP season as the world number 173 but it has been a tale of persistent improvement and progress. He kept nudging some victories to keep crawling up the ranks and finished the season as the
world number 65. A couple of more decent victories will further raise his rankings in the world and might award him a place in the all-prestigious Olympics draw this summer.
Harrison took off his 2011 season from Brisbane International, losing in the very first round to the then world number five, Robin Soderling. He exited early from the Australian open as well but came out to win the Honolulu Challenger
the very next week to stun everyone. His fourth-round run at the Indian Wells Masters shot up his rankings to the world number 130 spot and the teenager continued to produce surprises for tennis fans.
Harrison cleared the qualifiers of Roland Garros and Wimbledon Championships comprehensively but couldn’t do well against the elite players in the main draw, falling out in the opening and the second rounds respectively. He finally
got his sublime form at the World Tour event in Atlanta, making it all the way to his first semi-final before losing to the reigning American number one, Mardy Fish. He kept his inspirational run in the following tournament in Los Angeles, charging his way
to the semi-finals but against lost to Fish in a stiff three-setter.
He made his third semi-final appearance at San Jose this year but couldn’t convert the opportunity and fell to the booming Canadian, Milos Raonic.
Harrison is just 19 years of age and has to learn lots of things to become an established player on the courts. His exceptional talent and playing skills are no doubt rare but the lack of maturity in his game and the inability
to absorb pressure is something he needs to get rid of. Harrison is anticipated to win his first ATP World Tour title this year and he might target a tournament with a lesser competitive field, may be any World Tour 250 event, to get into the winners’ circle.
Nevertheless, the teenager is ought to carry the legacy of American tennis in the coming years and he better get prepared for it.
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