The Best Birthday Gift

The Best Birthday Gift

What is the best birthday gift for a boy turning into twenties? Not an easy question but excited Ryan Harrison could tell you the answer without a doubt from Madrid yesterday.

As a “lucky wild-carder” – given a wild card in the last minutes due to Andy Murray’s retreat – Ryan Harrison, with his adorable pink shoes matching well to the blue clay, encountered the qualifier, pink-shirted Ukrainian Sergiy Stakhovsky, in the first round of Mutua Madrid Open, and beat him 7-6(3), 7-6(5) on this dreamy match of pink and blue. Yesterday was his twentieth birthday.

Stakhovsky did have chances to spoil this young man’s great day. He was quite dominant in the first set, having six break points, including three set points, which were all saved by Harrison. Probably encouraging by winning the first tie break, Harrison played more aggressively in the second set, but Stakhovsky earned the first break in the middle. A great comebacker, Harrison broke Stakhovsky’s serving game while 4-5, pushed the set into another tie-break, and again won the second one.

Ryan Harrison in his first round match, Mutua Madrid Open, 2012

In his last tournament in Belgrade, while his ranking could earn him a seed in an ATP tour for the first time, influenced by flight delay and missing luggage, Harrison was defeated by Brazilian Joao Souza (#116) in 3-6, 3-6, without getting even a single break point. This is the second time that he was defeated by a player ranked lower than him during this season. In early April, he was just defeated in the quarter-final of Houston by 33-year-old Michael Russell, ranked 136th, in three sets, another unexpected lost. Earlier, in his death rubber battle with Giles Simon in the quarter-finalof Davis Cup, something seemed to be lost in him, and he was defeated by 2-6, 3-6. Comparing to his stable, if not inspiring, performance earlier in this year, these consecutive defeats – yes, he won Bogomolov and Kunitsyn in Houston, but both were not in their best condition – worried the most faithful supporters: can Ryan play well on clay? Does he stay too much in the baseline and became too defensive? Can he effectively execute his plan well on the clay without making too many errors? Supporters did not lose confidence on this kid, but expect a stronger consequence from his preparation for the clay season.

Ryan Harrison in his first round match, US Men's Clay Championship, Houston, 2012

Harrison is supposed to be able to play well on the clay among the younger generation of American players. His first ATP win, when he was fifteen in 2008, was on the clay against a Top-100, experienced Southern American player in Houston, by which he entered “the elite club” of players earning their first win before turning sixteenth, among Borg and Nadal. In his first appearance in the main draw of Roland Garros last year, ranked 119th, his fight with Robin Soderling – World No. 5, two-time finalists in this sanctuary of the clay, the guy who defeated Nadal in 2009 – in the first round was impressive. Although Harrison was defeated by 1-3, he was the only one, except for Nadal, who could have one set over Soderling in Roland Garros 2011. The high expectation of him on the clay from supporters does not come from nowhere.

Ryan Harrison in his first round, French Open, 2011

It would be too optimistic and too early to take this win over Stakhovsky as a sound credit of Harrison’s competitiveness on the clay; however, Harrison did play differently in this match. He was apparently more aggressive, having more volleys, especially in the second set, when he was really firing up. His move was much better, probably partly due to the controversial blue clay, and was able to have several beautiful defenses. Something we are familiar with was still there. His serves did help a lot, although experienced Stakhovsky was also good at dealing with them, Harrison did his best in his side. What might be no less important was he had better control over himself, skillfully and mentally. In such intense match – I felt my heart stopped several times – first-day twenty-year-old Harrison could handle the key moments better than he did before – counting the breakpoints he saved. A few yells, but looked concentrated and stayed calm for the most time. After watching a series of his recent matches on the red clay, the blue battle yesterday reminded me a lot the reasons that I follow him. I was exciting all over the match and felt grateful after it.

Besides the comeback on the clay and birthday, another significance of the battle yesterday that we all knew was related to his history. Even a late follower as I know Harrison’s magical journey in US Open, 2010. Eighteen years old, Harrison had been a promising young player before August 2010. People knew his early win, but since that, Harrison, who always tried to challenge a higher level and stopped to play junior at the age of sixteen, had some good performances, such as becoming the youngest Quarterfinalist in Newport, 2010, but no remarkable win. In this extremely hot August in New York, Harrison first won three qualify matches, including one impressive battle with Rui Machado, which Harrison, after two solid sets of 5-7, 7-6(5), got full-leg cramps while 0-3 in the third set but eventually overcome and won. In his first main draw play in US Open, beyond anyone’s expectation, he defeated the fifteenth seed, Ivan Ljubicic, in four sets, and became the first American teenager to win over a seed in US Open since Roddick. This 211st ranked, eighteenth year-old rookie became the focus of media, and newly declared American hope for male tennis.

Video clip: Ryan Harrison in his second qualify match, US Open 2010

Therefore, Harrison’s second round match against Sergiy Stakhovsky, then ranked 37th, became a hit, and was placed into the central court: people wanted to know whether this kid was a rising star or just got his lucky win. Although losing in five sets 3-6, 7-5, 6-3, 3-6, 6-7(6), calm and mature, brave and strategic, Ryan Harrison proved he belonged to the former. His performance caught the audience’s heart and in the fifth set, all the crowds chanted “Let’s go Ryan” for him. Although in the final “heartbreaker” he squandered a 6-3 lead and was tightly defeated, with his ambition and work ethic, he became the next big thing of American tennis.

Ryan Harrison in his second Round, US Open, 2010

Link:Interview with Ryan Harrison after the second round, US Open 2010

It was quite a coincidence for Harrison to encounter Sergiy Stakhovsky again in his twentieth birthday, and had a tiebreak in each set – the difference was stronger and grown Harrison won both in this time. As an audience far away, from his young and frowned face, I wouldn’t know whether, facing the same opponent in a special day, there was a slice of memory from 2010 slipping into his head during these two tiebreaks, reminding him of the chant, the sweat, the excited and energetic arms and legs in his another big day almost two year ago, or he was just, as usual, using his brain and instinct, trying to execute the plan well and win the game. However, a twenty-year-old confident player, he didn’t miss any chance, and won the game in the end.

A sweet revenge could never be the best birthday gift. What was the best was what he gave to himself from his consistent commitment to his goal, which was coincidently shown in a match against one of his old opponents yesterday, and will be frequently shown in each match he played in the future. Tons of birthday wishes and winning congratulations had sent to Ryan Harrison’s twitter and Facebook accounts, either from acquaintances or from fans. A chocolate cake with strawberries was presented to him after the match. As one of those who cares about Ryan Harrison, I can only say I feel fortunate to follow the growth of a talented player. In his Wednesday match against the fourth seed, Jo-Wilfred Tsonga, no doubt that Ryan Harrison will show us what he got, and we will definitely follow his second match in his twenties, and of course the third, the fourth, the fifth….

After-match birthday surprise for Ryan Harrison's 20th birthday