Grand upset: Harrison stuns Raonic.
WHAT HAPPENED: A half-dozen years removed from his high-water mark at the US Open - that day as an 18-year-old upstart he toppled then-No. 17-ranked Ivan Ljubicic to advance to the second round - Ryan Harrison has struggled to live up to the kind of sky-high expectations that come part and parcel with such big-stage achievements.
Now 24 years old and ranked No. 120 in the world, few expected the American to equal such a feat at the 2016 US Open. But on Day 3 in the Grandstand he did that and more, shocking fifth-seed and Wimbledon runner-up Milos Raonic, 6-7, 7-5, 7-5, 6-1, to reach the third round at a major for the first time in his nearly decade-long pro career.
Harrison grabbed the first break of the match to move ahead 3-2, only to have Raonic later force a tiebreak, where an untimely double fault (one of 12 on the day) would cost the Texan the opening set.
Despite saving nine of 10 break points in the second set, Harrison would need seven set points to finally level the match at 1-all.
Up a break at 2-1 in the third set, Raonic opted for a medical timeout to have his left wrist attended to. But whether it was his wrist or simply the energy-sapping heat and humidity of Queens in late August, which his body language seemed to suggest, he would allow his opponent back in the set and was soon trailing by two sets to one. The Montenegro-born 25-year-old looked downright deflated in the fourth and final set as Harrison notched breaks in the fourth and sixth games, and eventually served out the match at love in three hours, 37 minutes. He finished with 48 winners to 38 unforced errors.
Raonic and Harrison had split their two previous encounters, the American winning in 2011 in Indian Wells and the Canadian taking the match the following year in San Jose.
WHAT IT MEANS: Raonic has said as much himself: there's no real mystery to his game. It’s built around his detonative serve, his ability to dictate points from the baseline. So there are really no surprises when you find yourself on the other side of the net against the Canadian, who since turning pro in 2008 has developed a reputation as one of the ATP World Tour’s most lethal power players.
“I'm by no means a counterpuncher,” he said earlier this year.
Long touted as one of the heirs apparent to the Big Four conglomerate of Federer/Nadal/Djokovic/Murray, he has only recently truly been coming into his own, as we saw in July, when he became the first Canadian man to a reach a major final. But Raonic will need to find some second-week consistency at the Slams if he wishes to be considered amongst the sport’s elite.
QUESTION: Harrison peaked at a career-high No. 43 in 2012. Can he work his way back into the Top 50 (or higher)?
WHAT HAPPENED: A half-dozen years removed from his high-water mark at the US Open - that day as an 18-year-old upstart he toppled then-No. 17-ranked Ivan Ljubicic to advance to the second round - Ryan Harrison has struggled to live up to the kind of sky-high expectations that come part and parcel with such big-stage achievements.
Now 24 years old and ranked No. 120 in the world, few expected the American to equal such a feat at the 2016 US Open. But on Day 3 in the Grandstand he did that and more, shocking fifth-seed and Wimbledon runner-up Milos Raonic, 6-7, 7-5, 7-5, 6-1, to reach the third round at a major for the first time in his nearly decade-long pro career.
Harrison grabbed the first break of the match to move ahead 3-2, only to have Raonic later force a tiebreak, where an untimely double fault (one of 12 on the day) would cost the Texan the opening set.
Despite saving nine of 10 break points in the second set, Harrison would need seven set points to finally level the match at 1-all.
Up a break at 2-1 in the third set, Raonic opted for a medical timeout to have his left wrist attended to. But whether it was his wrist or simply the energy-sapping heat and humidity of Queens in late August, which his body language seemed to suggest, he would allow his opponent back in the set and was soon trailing by two sets to one. The Montenegro-born 25-year-old looked downright deflated in the fourth and final set as Harrison notched breaks in the fourth and sixth games, and eventually served out the match at love in three hours, 37 minutes. He finished with 48 winners to 38 unforced errors.
Raonic and Harrison had split their two previous encounters, the American winning in 2011 in Indian Wells and the Canadian taking the match the following year in San Jose.
WHAT IT MEANS: Raonic has said as much himself: there's no real mystery to his game. It’s built around his detonative serve, his ability to dictate points from the baseline. So there are really no surprises when you find yourself on the other side of the net against the Canadian, who since turning pro in 2008 has developed a reputation as one of the ATP World Tour’s most lethal power players.
“I'm by no means a counterpuncher,” he said earlier this year.
Long touted as one of the heirs apparent to the Big Four conglomerate of Federer/Nadal/Djokovic/Murray, he has only recently truly been coming into his own, as we saw in July, when he became the first Canadian man to a reach a major final. But Raonic will need to find some second-week consistency at the Slams if he wishes to be considered amongst the sport’s elite.
QUESTION: Harrison peaked at a career-high No. 43 in 2012. Can he work his way back into the Top 50 (or higher)?
