Newly-established top-100 star Lloyd Harris earns Delray Beach invitation
On February 4, the 21-year-old has Lloyd Harris joined Kevin Anderson in the top-100 to forge the South African duo in the elite group of men's tennis for the first time in 15 years and Wayne Ferreira and Wesley Moodie. Lloyd won the third Challenger title in Launceston in the previous week and he accumulated enough points to crack the top-100 and achieve one of his main goals in a career so far. The Cape Town native had barely been ranked inside the top-300 12 months ago, standing in the group of young players who were trying to make a breakthrough in the rankings and secure the place in the main draws of Challenger events.
Lloyd managed to achieve that after winning 22 out of 24 Futures matches, moving to the higher level and steadily improving his game to claim the maiden Challenger title in Lexington in August, followed by the final in Aptos and the US Open main draw as a qualifier. Lloyd conquered another Challenger crown in Stockton, setting a firm course towards the top-100 and accomplishing the task with a dominant performance in Launceston, just two weeks after making the Australian Open debut. The hard-hitting youngster was the dominant figure during the entire week, fending off eight out of ten break points to secure the title without losing a set, beating Lorenzo Sonego 6-2, 6-2 in the final.
Equipped with a booming serve and massive groundstrokes, Harris has been working on various elements of his game that made him very dangerous on the fast surfaces and he is certainly capable of delivering some small ATP 250 title in the rest of the season. Lloyd will have the opportunity for that in Delray Beach, receiving the main draw wild card and seeking the 11th ATP win against a qualifier following the first round loss to Sam Querrey in New York. The youngster stayed in touch in the opening set before he lost the ground in the second, hoping for the better result in Florida where he will compete for the first time.
from Tennis World USA http://bit.ly/2GM6T55
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