A tough test awaits Lloyd Harris in the second round of the US Open in New York. The South African, who made his return to the court this year after a wrist injury, will then cross rackets with Carlos Alcaraz.
Harris looked good in his opening match against Guido Pella. He fired 25 chest shots and hit 45 winners in his eventual 7-6, 6-4, 6-4 victory.
In addition, the 26-year-old South African has already shown in the past that he can deal with some of the world’s top players. In 2021, he finished playing with, among others, Stan Wawrinka, Rafael Nadal and Denis Shapovalov.
At the time, Nadal in particular was full of praise for Harris’s hitting prowess after the South African eliminated him in the Citi Open (final score was 6-4, 1-6 and 6-4).
“I competed against someone who played very good tennis. I do think that I played better now than in my previous match, but his serves were so good,” said the Spaniard after the duel.
But Alcaraz is undoubtedly a horse of a different color.
The defending US Open champion effortlessly advanced to the next round of the New York tournament after Dominik Koepfer injured his ankle.
But this year he already won a titanic Wimbledon final against Novak Djokovic, while he also played against the very Serbian in the final of the Western & Southern Open.
Many tennis fans believe that these two matches do not even count among the best tennis matches and Djokovic at the same time admitted that he had never before competed against a player like Alcaraz.
The Spaniard should have too much ammunition for the courageous Harris, but New York is often marketed as a city where dreams come true, isn’t it?
The two players have not played against each other before.
