South Africa’s Lloyd Harris was just one point away from beating three-time ATP Tour winner Bernard Tomic of Australia in the second round of the ATP Chengdu Open in China on Wednesday.
Frequently pilloried for not giving his all in matches, 25-year-old Tomic dug deep, survived a match point to qualify for just his second ATP quarter-final of the year by beating the big-serving Harris 7-6 (7-5) 2-6 7-6 (8-6).
Tomic had to withstand 23 aces and an edgy tiebreaker to get the job done in a long two hours and 10 minutes.
After winning a tight first set that didn’t feature a break point chance for either player, Tomic suffered some mid-match malaise and quickly found the ledger squared after having his serve broken twice in a forgettable set.
Tomic soon found his feet again in the third, establishing a 2-0 lead over the South African, only to relinquish what would be his only break of serve in the match.
From there the set stayed on serve before Tomic pinched a mini-break in the tiebreaker and had the opportunity to serve out the clash at 5-4.
But Harris had other ideas and won consecutive points off Tomic’s serve to have the match on his racquet at 6-5.
Tomic returned the favour by winning both points from the Harris serve and then served out the match.
It was anyone’s game and the match stats show that Harris was an unlucky loser.
The Capetonian had an impressive 78% first serve points won percentage and had 11 breakpoint opportunities compared to the five of Tomic, winning 51% of total points won in the match.
Currently ranked 129th in the world, despite the loss, Harris should get even closer to the world’s top 100 next week.
PHOTO: Harris in action against Tomic, by Zhizhao Wu/Getty Images