Harris Downs Shapovalov To Make History In Dubai
Lloyd Harris became the first qualifier to reach the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships final on Friday, when he rallied to defeat Denis Shapovalov 6-7(5), 6-4, 7-6(6).
The South African, who trailed 2-4 in the second set, saved three of the four break points he faced to reach his maiden ATP 500 final. Harris has won seven matches in as many days to make history at the ATP 500. En route to the final, the World No. 81 has won the two biggest matches of his career against World No. 4 Dominic Thiem and World No. 12 Shapovalov.
“I don’t have many words right now. I am super happy with that win,” Harris said in an on-court interview. “Being a set and 2-4 down is mentally and physically a little bit troublesome for me, but I found my best tennis from there. I am just extremely happy with the result right now.”
Harris will face Andrey Rublev or Aslan Karatsev in the championship match. In his only previous tour-level final in Adelaide last year, Harris fell in straight sets to Rublev.
“This is what I am working for. This is what I have been putting in the hard yards for,” said Harris. “I have been waiting for some results like this. To have so many of them in one week is a fantastic feeling. I have got one more match to go.”
Shapovalov appeared to be closing in on victory when he broke his opponent at 2-2 in the second set and extended his perfect record in service games throughout the week (37/37) to reach 4-2. But the 21-year-old committed a series of unforced errors to drop back-to-back service games and the second set.
In the final-set tie-break, Harris served well under pressure to keep pace with his opponent. Shapovalov used his forehand to dictate rallies, but Harris earned his place in the final when the Canadian narrowly missed an attempted backhand down the line.
Shapovalov was also aiming to reach his first ATP 500 final and emulate his coach, two-time Dubai finalist Mikhail Youzhny. The Canadian did not drop a set en route to the semi-finals, with wins against Jan-Lennard Struff, Hubert Hurkacz and Jeremy Chardy.