For the third time in four days, the BB&T Atlanta Open experienced a delay. But that didn’t stop Ryan Harrison from dodging a close upset.
In a match that went almost three hours Thursday — without factoring in the delay — Harrison defeated John Millman in three sets. Over four hours passed from first point to the finish.
“One of the things I’ve been working on is understanding bad things like (the weather) are going to happen. But you know, I’m pretty sure that 12 months ago I would’ve gone down in that match. I think the energy level, the way the crowd helped; I was able to stay positive even when I was down a set at the break.
“Today is one I can put into the category of mental maturity.”
The first set was stalled one and-a-half hours because of heavy rain at Atlantic Station. Matches were suspended Monday because of weather as well. Wednesday had a delay for a broken net.
Harrison dropped the first set 7-6, and was visibly angry when play was suspended and ongoing city noise shrouded the match. The two ramped it up out of the unexpected break, and Harrison rallied to win 7-4 in a tie-breaker.
“At 3-4, that storm started to come in,” Harrison said. “And it was really windy, really dark and you know I was hoping we could stop right then and there because I knew that car alarms were starting to go off because of the wind, because things were picking up. It was a tough little obstacle there, and I ended up getting broken and losing the first set.”
Trailing 3-2 in the third set, Harrison mocked starting a motorcycle during a tie-breaker, a break from his previously ongoing frustration. He bought off break point to even the set 3-3.
But Millman didn’t let up, going up 5-4. Harrison won the next three games for a 7-5 finish.
Harrison will face the winner of Christopher Eubanks versus Jared Donaldson in the quarterfinals, which started over two hours late after the earlier delays.
Harrison defeated Donaldson in the World Tour Masters 1000 Rome earlier this year. He’s never faced Eubanks, but had high praise for the Georgia Tech student-athlete.
For Harrison, a Florida native, Atlanta is one of his favorite sites to compete.
“I love it,” he said. “… It’s like home. I grew up playing all the southern tournaments … So, being here feels as close to home as it gets.”
About the Author
