Though he was knocked out in the second round, Lloyd Harris will take plenty of confidence from his performances at Wimbledon this week, as he aims to climb back up the global ladder.
Following multiple injury battles in recent years, Harris has slipped from a career high No 31 to 118th position in the world rankings.
His form this season, however, suggests he has finally shaken off various niggles and is back on the rise.
His recent results have included three victories at lower-tier ATP Challenger tournaments over the last few months, and he looks to be on his way to returning to the top 100 in the rankings list.
Since reaching the quarterfinals at the US Open in 2021, the 27-year-old South African has not progressed beyond the second round of a Grand Slam, but he came agonisingly close in his latest attempt at Wimbledon.
After progressing through the qualifying rounds, he beat American teenager Alex Michelsen in a five-set thriller in his first-round match on Monday.
And in his second-round match on Thursday, he dug deep before slipping in a narrow defeat to another American, No 14 seed Ben Shelton.
But it was the nature of his performances, rather than the results, which indicated that Harris was getting back to his best.
Against Michelsen, he survived a deciding tie-break and received recognition from the organisers with the Play of the Day for the most memorable moment on the opening day of the tournament.
Against Shelton, one of the sport’s fastest rising stars, Harris again fought hard to take the match to a tie-break in the fifth set.
He still has some work to do to reach his full potential as SA’s top-ranked player, but it is a relief to see Harris regaining top form.
For all he achieved in his career before his injury troubles began, now that he’s fully fit again, his best could be yet to come.
Meanwhile, though Harris has been eliminated from the competition, local tennis fans can still get a taste of the world’s most prestigious tennis tournament.
In an attempt to bring the Wimbledon championship closer to local supporters, Tennis South Africa is hosting the Amex Tennis Town fan park throughout the tournament.
The Tennis Town at Montecasino will be open until 14 July and will host up to 1,500 people per day.
