Harrison captures first career ATP title at Memphis Open

Ryan Harrison’s first-ever ATP title was a long time coming.

Although he is still just 24 years old, Harrison had hype heaped upon him back when he picked up his maiden ATP match victory at 15. Nine years and all kinds of ups-and-downs later, Harrison is a champion.

The 62nd-ranked American triumphed at the Memphis Open when he beat Nikoloz Basilashvili 6-1, 6-4 on Sunday afternoon. Harrison struck nine aces without double-faulting and saved all 12 of the break points he faced to get the job done in one hour and 16 minutes. He stared down at least one break point in all five of his second-set service games, but Basilashvili failed to capitalize on any opportunity.

“It’s always going to be special, but it’s even better here in front of a group of people that drove up from your hometown and have known you since you were five years old,” explained Harrison, who hails from Shreveport, Louisiana. “To do it in front of friends and family and people that saw the work I was putting in and my dedication, it definitely makes it more special.

“This was the first place I saw a professional tennis match, driving up from Shreveport. I will always remember Memphis. All those emotions were coming out there at the end. You have dreams and aspirations in life and for me it’s trying to be as great as I can in tennis. For me to come back here and win this title when I had thought it was impossible, it’s amazing.”

Amazing is exactly what Harrison was in Memphis and over the past three weeks. He has now won 10 matches in a row and 20 straight sets, having previously dominated his way to the Dallas Challenger title. In addition to his defeat of Basilashvili, the former world No. 43 cruised past Konstantin Kravchuk, Sam Querrey, Damir Dzumhur, and Donald Young.

Although the score suggests otherwise, the final–due to both the pressure and the number of break points faced–may have been the toughest.

“I don’t think I had a single easy hold in the second set,” Harrison added. “He came out and was playing really good tennis. Honestly, he outplayed me most of the second set and I managed to save a bunch of break points and convert on the only one I had. But that happens in tennis. I was fortunate to be the one saving the opportunities.”

“In the first set, I could not find any rhythm,” said Basilashvili, who is now 0-2 lifetime in ATP finals. “I was not going for my shots and playing very defensive. Ryan was serving really well on the break points. I had a lot of chances in the second set, but the energy wasn’t great today.

“Ryan was playing unbelievable in the 12 break points. He was playing really well. If I had just one, I could have found the rhythm, but I wasn’t able to. He made me play a lot of shots, which helped him. He has been playing very good all week…. It hurts so much, but you have to learn from this for the next matches.”

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