South African qualifier Lloyd Harris battle past Stan Wawrinka 7-6 (7-3) 6-7 (6-8) 7-5 after 2 hours and 41 minutes to secure his spot in the second round.
Wawrinka did not face a break point but he did not convert any of his seven chances. Harris saved four break points in the second game to hold his serve at deuce. The South African player got two mini-breaks to win the tie-break 7-3.
Harris saved three break points the seventh game of the second set. Both players went on serve until the tie-break. Wawrinka rallied from 2-4 down in the tie-break of the second set and won six of the next eight points with two mini-breaks with a forehand and two backhand volleys to take the tie-break 8-6.
Harris earned an early break to take a 2-0 lead in the third set. The South African player came within within two points of 3-0. Wawrinka broke back in the fourth game to draw level to 2-2, but Harris got the decisive break in the 11th game and closed out the third set 7-5 with his 11th ace.
Harris will face last week’s Rotterdam finalist Marton Fucsovics, who beat Dusan Lajovic 7-6 (7-3) 6-3 after 1 hour and 44 minutes. Great Britain’s Daniel Evans fended off 16 of 18 break points to beat Jeremy Chardy 6-4 1-6 6-2 after 2 hours and 55 minutes. Evans will face Roger Federer, who will play his first match since the 2020 Australian Open.
