Ryan Harrison upsets Xavier Malisse to reach quarterfinals – Atlanta Tennis Championships 2011
Upcoming American Ryan Harrison, ranked 120th in the world, made full use of the home support as he upset fourth seed Xavier Malisse of Belgium in three sets 6-7(3), 6-4, 6-4 in the second round at the Atlanta Tennis
Championships on Thursday. It took Harrison two hours and nineteen minutes to beat his opponent in a tough match.
Malisse made a good start as he broke the American in the third game and held his next service game to take a 3-1 lead. Harrison broke back in the eighth game and squared off the score at 4-4. The American and Malisse held their
serve in the next four games to tie the score at 6-6 and force a tie-break. The Belgian grabbed two mini-breaks and capitalised on them to win the tie-break 7-3.
The six feet and one inch tall hit 44 percent of the first deliveries and two aces in the opening set. The Belgian captured 79 percent of the points on the first serve. On the other hand, Harrison served better as he fired four
aces and 49 percent of the first deliveries, claiming 84 percent of the points on them. The American also clinched 21 percent of the first return points compared to just 16 percent by Malisse. However, the right-handed lost the set because of making more unforced
errors than his opponent in the first set.
Harrison and the Belgian held their serve in the first four games of the second set to tie the score at 2-2. The American made breakthrough as he won his opponent’s service game at 2-2 and held his own serve in the next game to
grab a 4-2 lead. Harrison did not allow the Belgian to break back, capturing the set 6-4.
The American kept his first serve percentage at 56 percent and smacked two aces in the second set. Harrison claimed twelve of the fourteen first service points and seven of the nineteen first return points in the second set.
With winning momentum on his side, the 19-year-old broke Malisse in the opening game of the third set but the American failed to consolidate on the break of serve, getting broken in the very next game to level the score at 1-1.
Harrison broke the Belgian again in the seventh game and this time he did not allow Malisse to break back, serving out the set at 5-4.
The American will meet compatriot Rajeev Ram, ranked 272nd in the world, in the quarterfinals.
Tags: