In his second participation in the main draw of an ATP tournament, the 29-year-old Billy Harris in the Queen’s Club in London. The Brit’s impressively persistent journey was rewarded with his first Grand Slam main draw appearance at the Wimbledon tournament.
by Dietmar Kaspar
last edited: 22.06.2024, 20:42
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Billy Harris’s persistent patience is rewarded with a place in the main draw at Wimbledon.
Even though the big headlines at this year’s ATP 500 event at London’s Queen’s Club belonged to his compatriot Jack Draper, who was able to defeat the three-time Grand Slam champion Carlos Alcaraz from Spain, the Briton Billy Harris will always remember the tournament in the West Kensington district with his quarter-finals.
In general, the 29-year-old’s path to the big ATP tour was almost indescribably long. Having first entered the ATP rankings in 2015, he toured the ITF World Tennis Tour for years as a so-called “journeyman”. As he said in a BBC story in 2023, he proceeded in the same way as the German-Jamaican Dustin Brown did at the beginning of his career in order to keep travel costs as low as possible. “I traveled around in a camping van for three and a half years, with a bed in the back. I cooked on the street and mostly parked at McDonald’s.” Even the stringing machine was a must on board.
The most cost-effective option was also chosen when it came to coaching: “My father Geoff got me into tennis. He always passed the balls to me from a young age, even though he had no tennis background at all,” Harris revealed with a touch of British humor at the press conference at the Queen’s Club. “He can hit a few balls over the net, but that’s about it. However, he has seen every one of my matches and therefore knows my game very well. He always gives me tips on what I should work on. His support alone always gives me that little extra in the matches.”
And so it took until 2022 for him to crack the top 400 for the first time and then establish himself on the ATP Challenger Tour. He celebrated his first victory in the main draw on the major ATP Tour in October 2023, when he defeated the Swiss Marc-Andrea Hüsler in his second appearance at this level after successfully qualifying, before being defeated by the German Davis Cup player Jan-Lennard Struff.
Starting as No. 162 in the ATP rankings, Harris’ coup at the Queen’s Club will see him enter the top 150 for the first time. He will also be rewarded by the All England Lawn Tennis Club with a main draw wildcard for the major in Wimbledon. A true example of how staying power as a “journeyman” can pay off.
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Carlos Alcaraz
Struff Jan-Lennard
Huesler Marc-Andrea
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2024-06-22 19:04:00
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