Lloyd Harris and his coach, Anthony Harris, used to visit Juan Carlos Ferrero’s academy in Spain to prepare for the clay-court season. The South African would train with a 15-year-old Spaniard named Carlos Alcaraz.
“I was practising every day with Carlos. He was already hitting the forehand way bigger than me and I was like, ‘This is problematic. He’s 15,’” Harris told ATPTour.com. “I was still able to beat him in sets, that was nice. But I think since then, it’s been incredible to see the journey and what he’s capable of. You have so many factors that come together there. It’s unbelievable, what a talent.”
On Thursday, Harris will play Alcaraz in the second round of the US Open. It will be their first ATP Head2Head clash, and Harris has plenty of respect for the top seed.
“The speed on the forehand was just incredible. The heaviness, the speed. That was definitely [his strength] at the time,” Harris said. “Obviously now you could say a lot of things. I don’t want to give the guy too many compliments. I don’t want to burst his bubble, but he’s incredible, obviously.”
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Harris has shown top-level tennis in his career, too. The former World No. 31 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings has earned three Top 10 victories and reached an ATP 500 final in Dubai two years ago. But ever since, injuries have held the South African back.
The biggest setback was when he tore the Triangular FibroCartilage Complex in his right wrist. He underwent surgery last June and did not play for the rest of the season after Roland Garros.
Things appeared positive when Harris won seven of nine ATP Challenger Tour matches to begin 2023 and then beat Lorenzo Musetti at the Australian Open.
“That was obviously a little bit of a dream start, playing really well the first couple of weeks, getting a big win in Australia,” Harris said. “But it hasn’t quite been such a fairytale comeback after that. After Australia I played one more tournament, had to pull out and then missed almost three months again. And it’s been tough.”
The 26-year-old’s wrist “has been amazing”. But given all the matches he played upon his return, other parts of his body began to act up, specifically with his glute and a nerve impingement issue.
“That was just a very difficult thing to get rid of. It’s not just a muscle, it’s a nerve thing,” Harris said. “It doesn’t matter how much you treat it, it doesn’t really want to go away. But now finally, it’s kind of leaving me, so that’s a good thing.”
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Harris fell outside of the world’s Top 300 in May. But he has enjoyed some good results — like when he reached the semi-finals of the ATP 250 in Mallorca as a qualifier — and is up to No. 148 in the Pepperstone ATP Live Rankings.
“It’s been okay, it hasn’t been awful. It also just hasn’t been great. But I think I have to be patient and build myself back gradually to where I was, and hopefully climb from there,” Harris said. “So just trying to be patient and trying to work on the game, work on the physical side. And I think it all will come together eventually. It is just about putting in the work and taking the time.”
Two years ago, Harris was playing the best tennis of his career and advanced to his first major quarter-final at the US Open. Because of performances like that, he knows what he is capable of.
“You have these sparks, and it feels like ‘Oh, I’m finding it’, and then it doesn’t quite happen. But I think the fact that you know the level that you did play and that I was playing, it makes it a little harder to accept sometimes mentally when you’re not quite able to find that,” Harris said. “In the end, if I look at my game and my shots, it’s still there. I can still serve, I can still hit forehands, I can still hit backhands, I can still run. So it’s just a bit tricky to put it all together in the same manner. But it’s exciting to at least know that I’m still capable of doing it.”
Many players would be down after suffering from injuries and setbacks for an extended period of time. But Harris is choosing to look ahead and not dwell on the difficulties of the past.
“Look where I am, right? I’m at the US Open. I’ve got my family here. I’ve got my great team around. I’m still having a blast. I’m still enjoying being on Tour. I love what I do,” Harris said. “It’s not been an easy year for me. Last year was probably even a harder year. But I’m looking forward to hopefully being on Tour for many years, so I’m looking forward to those big results, big wins. And we’ll see what the future holds.
“But I think all of that just keeps me positive and keeps me going. It’s not always easy. It’s not always possible to be positive. But for the most part, I think me and the people around me are trying to keep it as positive as possible.”