Ryan Harrison carries heavy burden for Americans

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from MTF

January 18, 2010

Ryan Harrison, the 17-year-old American, who qualified via a wild-card play-off, faces Janko Tipsarevic in the first round of the Australian Open

Neil Harman, Tennis Correspondent, Melbourne

Ryan Harrison would like it to be known that he has never had anything but absolute love for tennis. Although, like Andre Agassi, he was coached by his father — from the age of 2 — there was never any terrorisation from wicked ball machines or macabre moments of self-loathing for the 17-year-old from Shreveport, Louisiana. Nor did Pat Harrison ever want to punch anyone’s lights out, as Mike Agassi frequently had the urge to.

Tomorrow, in his first grand-slam tournament, having won the US wild-card play-off to earn a spot in the Australian Open, Harrison, the world No 341, will play Janko Tipsarevic, the world No 35 from Serbia. As he talks of his desire to succeed in the sport, you cannot escape the feeling that it is a copy of the conversation you had ten years before with Andy Roddick when he won the US Open junior title. “It’s a privilege to be mentioned in such company,” Harrison said.

Clearly, not only did his father, a former professional, raise his elder son to play the sport to the best of his ability — his 15-year-old sibling, Christian, is being spoken of in similarly flattering tones — but good manners were sacrosanct, too. Ryan would not call himself an angel, for he says that when he sets his heart on something, not a stone will be left unturned. But he is a charming young man, speaking plainly and without pause or fumbling for the right word.

“I have never been described as quiet,” Harrison said. “There is a lot of fire when I play, I love to be out there with energy and get the crowd involved. You will never see me without a passion for what I’m doing. It doesn’t matter what the score is, or what I may look like on the outside. I could be hurt, or frustrated, but I will, 100 per cent, be thinking about a way to win the match.

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“I was taught the game really well from a young age. There is a great understanding of how to construct points, the technical aspects, a real solid base and on that I’m learning how to win on a consistent basis. That is the single biggest thing in the game. You have to know how to compete. I want to be the best.

“There are so many great players within a 100-yard radius everywhere you turn at a grand-slam tournament. You see how they act, their preparation, you understand and appreciate why they are here. I want to be at these events on a consistent basis.

“I’ve always had the mentality not to settle for the top five or for second place because being No 2 means I still have room to go up. It’s a long process to be the best, but that has to be the goal.”

Can Harrison sustain the tradition of those Americans who have shouldered the grand-slam burden in recent years: Agassi, Roddick, Pete Sampras, Jim Courier and Michael Chang? If people in Britain get het up about Andy Murray bearing the game on his shoulders, imagine that a thousand-fold in the United States. “I know everybody is looking at me, they talk about carrying American tennis and what a weight it has to be, but I see it as an honour,” Harrison said. “It’s not going to freak me out. I want to represent my country well. I have a long way to go but I’m learning everything I can as quickly as possible.”

Harrison spent the past couple of weeks on the Pacific island of New Caledonia, pounding the beaches, getting his body into the shape required to spend four hours a day, every other day, on court in Melbourne’s oppressive conditions. “We’ve tapered it down in the past couple of days but I feel I’m ready. I’m anxious, but in a good way,” he said. “I’m not going out there to look around and just be excited about playing. As soon as I step on to the court, my focus is on winning the match because unless you believe you can win, you won’t win. I love what I’m doing, it’s fun for me.”

Andre Agassi once said that, but has since revealed that he did not mean a word. That cannot be true of Ryan Harrison.