South Africa’s lone entrant in the men’s singles draw at this year’s Australian Open, Lloyd Harris, in through to Round 2 in Melbourne. Photo by Al Bello/Getty Images
Lloyd Harris v Alexander Zverev: US Open quarter-finals – 8 September 2021
Top-ranked South African tennis player Lloyd Harris will take on Germany’s Alexander Zverev in the US Open quarter-finals. Follow LIVE!
South Africa’s lone entrant in the men’s singles draw at this year’s Australian Open, Lloyd Harris, in through to Round 2 in Melbourne. Photo by Al Bello/Getty Images
Alexander Zverev passed his toughest test of the campaign with ease as he overcame the reigning ATP Great Ocean Road Open and Washington champion Jannik Sinner in straight sets.
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The Italian fought back from a break deficit and held five set points in the third set, but the German did well to get the job done in straight sets 6-4, 6-4, 7-6.
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The way the fourth seed saved set points and sealed the win in straight sets against a quality opponent shows the kind of confidence he has at the moment. He is probably the most confident player on tour at the moment as he won a couple of big titles in the run-up to the US Open – gold medal at the Tokyo Olympics and champion in Cincinnati Masters.
“The win over Novak Djokovic at the Olympics gave me a lot (of confidence) because I was down and out from the match. Coming back against the world No 1 the way I did. I’m hoping to use it and continue using it here,” he said after securing his place in the US Open quarter-finals.
The world No 4 has been dealing with a major personal issue over the last 24 months or so, but he has done exceptionally well to not let it affect his performance on the court. He has won over 70 matches and six titles since the start of the 2020 season, which saw him make his way back into the top 5 of ATP Tour rankings, despite the ranking freeze.
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The 24-year-old was winning big titles at the Masters level even at a young age but he had troubles progressing beyond the first week in slams. However, it doesn’t seem to be the case now, as he has turned out to be a consistent performer at this level, especially in hardcourt slams.
He has reached at least the quarter-finals in the last three hardcourt slams and won two of those matches against Stan Wawrinka at the Australian Open 2020 and Borna Coric en route to the finals of the US Open last year.
Lloyd Harris ended Reilly Opelka’s 10-set winning streak with a superb four-set comeback win in the round of 16 at the US Open. The South African fired 36 aces, won 90% of his first-serve points, and also created an impressive 17 breakpoint chances on the big-serving American’s serve, 6-7, 6-4, 6-1, 6-3.
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The 24-year-old has won 27 matches so far in this hugely successful 2021 season, and 21 of those wins have come on outdoor hard courts. Despite dealing with constant fitness issues, he managed to deliver results on the surface, such as reaching the final in Dubai (as a qualifier) and upsetting the likes of Stan Wawrinka, Dominic Thiem, Kei Nishikori, and Rafael Nadal.
The last South African to reach the quarter-finals at the US Open as well as in slams was the former world No 5 Kevin Anderson – and he won both of those matches against Sam Querrey here in 2017 and Roger Federer at Wimbledon 2018.
Head-to-head
Alexander Zverev leads 2-0 (1-0 in 2021, Cincinnati Masters). Alexander Zverev looks unstoppable at the moment, and he is heavily favoured to further extend his dominance in this match-up against Lloyd Harris.
