Still flying the flag high for Great Britain at the Eastbourne International, Billy Harris faces Australian qualifier Max Purcell in his maiden ATP Tour semi-final on Friday.
The home favourite broke new ground with a terrific three-set win over Flavio Cobolli in the quarter-finals, while qualifier Purcell posted an equally impressive success over Miomir Kecmanovic.
Match preview
On an afternoon where all of Harriet Dart, Emma Raducanu and Katie Boulter fell at the quarter-final stage in Eastbourne, Harris saved the day with one of his characteristic fightbacks, taking two hours and 28 minutes to eliminate Cobolli in a three-set spectacular.
The 29-year-old prevailed over the Italian 6-7[3] 7-6[4] 6-2 to follow up his successes over compatriots Jacob Fearnley and Charles Broom - the latter of whom he also had to harness his powers of recovery against - and make the final four of a top-level event for the first time ever.
The Eastbourne semis represents a new zenith in Harris's hitherto modest career, as the world number 139 - his new best ranking - had never even got as far as an ATP Tour quarter-final before the 2024 season; he has now reached two in two successive tournaments after his impressive Queen's run.
An Isle of Man native, Harris joked that his roots have helped him to adapt to the unforgiving windy conditions in Eastbourne, as he fired eight aces past Cobolli and also demonstrated terrific defensive skills, winning 72% of points behind his second serve and beating away all three of Cobolli's chances to break.
It goes without saying that advancing to the final would mark an unexpectedly exceptional Wimbledon warm-up for Harris, who will make his Grand Slam main-draw debut at SW19 as a wild card, potentially with an inaugural ATP 250 crown under his belt.
Despite coming in at three years younger than Harris at 26, Purcell's Grand Slam experience certainly outweighs that of his British foe, even if he has failed to make it past the second round of any of his first six singles appearances at major competitions.
Also a highly competent doubles player, the Australian triumphed in the men's 2022 Wimbledon event alongside Matthew Ebden - as well as reaching the 2022 and 2020 Australian Open finals - but a top-level singles title still eludes Purcell, now down at 94th in the world.
However, the 26-year-old has also taken down some notable names to progress in Eastbourne, sinking Henry Searle and Jan Choinski in qualifying and beginning the main draw with beatings of Laslo Djere and Lorenzo Sonego before Thursday's 6-3 7-6[4] victory over Miomir Kecmanovic.
Demonstrating ruthlessness when it mattered most, Purcell took the only two break points he conjured up against the Serbian to reach his first ATP Tour semi-final in three years, which coincidentally came at Eastbourne 2021; recent victim Sonego bested him that year.
That revenge mission is now complete for the Australian, though, and whichever soon-to-be maiden ATP Tour finalist comes up trumps on Friday, they must pit their wits against either top seed Taylor Fritz or Aleksandar Vukic to conquer Eastbourne.
Tournament so far
Max Purcell:
First round: vs. Laslo Djere 6-1 4-6 6-3
Round of 16: vs. Lorenzo Sonego 6-4 6-4
Quarter-final: vs. Miomir Kecmanovic 6-3 7-6[4]
Billy Harris:
First round: vs. Jacob Fearnley 6-4 7-6[7]
Round of 16: vs. Charles Broom 3-6 6-2 6-2
Quarter-final: vs. Flavio Cobolli 6-7[3] 7-6[4] 6-2
Head To Head
Challenger Club Els Gorchs (2023) - Semi-finals: Harris wins 7-6[3] 7-6[4]
Friday's semi-final will mark the first-ever showdown between Harris and Purcell at the top level, but this will not be the pair's inaugural meeting in a semi-final setting; that came in a 2023 Challenger event in the Spanish municipality of Les Franqueses del Valles.
During that chaotic contest - where both men broke each other five times - Harris held his nerve in two tight tie-breakers to advance to his maiden championship match at Challenger level, where Hugo Grenier bested him.
We say: Harris to win in three sets
A player with that winning feeling on grass can be a difficult juggernaut to stop, even though Dart, Boulter and Raducanu were swiftly dispatched of in the quarter-finals, and there is no reason to believe why Harris cannot go one step further.
The 29-year-old hit three times the amount of winners than his unforced errors on Thursday, and even though Purcell can be clinical when break points present themselves to him, Challenger history should repeat itself as the British hopeful books his place in the final.
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