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Rising South-African stat Lloyd Harris was a bit lost for words after stunning three-time Grand Slam champion Stan Wawrinka at the Qatar ExxonMobil Open in Doha. Harris, ranked at No.. 84 in the world, edged out Wawrinka 7-6 (3) 6-7 (6) 7-5 after two hours and 41 minutes of play to make the round-of-16 in Doha.
Harris is making his Doha debut this week, while Wawrinka ended runner-up at the tournament in 2008. “I don’t have many words right now,” said Harris after the match, per the ATP website. “Stan was my idol growing up, so just to play against him was incredible.
I was as determined as I could be, really pumped to play. I am proud of how I fought back after losing the second set. I feel like I’ve done really in the past couple of months and I hope to keep the momentum going”.
Harris delivered in key moments
Wawrinka was the only player to have break points in the first set but didn't convert as Harris saved four break points in the second game. As no breaks of serve were seen in the first set -- the set went into a tie-break -- in which Harris realized his first set point to win a tight opener.
Wawrinka also the lone break points in the second set but again didn't convert as Harris saved three break points in the seventh game. Wawrinka was down 4-2 in the second-set tie-break but he kept his focus as he trained his second set point to force a decider.
Harris claimed the first break of the match in the opening game of the third set but his lead was short-lived as Wawrinka broke back in the fourth game. But Harris kept his focus as he earned his second break in the 11th game, before routinely serving out for the match in the following game. Harris plays next against Hungarian Marton Fucsovics.
