TENNIS
SA’s Lloyd Harris into dreamland of US Open draw
He faces experienced 33-year-old campaigner Gilles Simon of France in the first round
Lloyd Harris has cracked the big time of men’s tennis after making it into the main draw of the US Open. The 21-year-old from Cape Town made it into the 128-man field via the qualifiers, where he won three matches in straight sets to book his place in the fourth and final Grand Slam tournament of 2018. He faces experienced 33-year-old campaigner Gilles Simon of France in the first round, and win or lose, is guaranteed his biggest payday — first-round losers pocket a whopping $50,000. Harris earned $20,000 just from the qualifiers, so it is a life-changing windfall for a player who came close to quitting the sport due to a lack of funds. Simon, who achieved a career-high ATP ranking of No 6 in 2009, will provide 6ft 4in Harris with his sternest test to date, one SA’s No 2 player is looking forward to. "Gilles has won 13 top-tier titles and I haven’t yet played a match at this level, but I’m going to go on court with the belief that I belong at the highest level and will try and show ...
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