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Los Angeles QF: Harrison def. Lu 3-6 6-3 6-4

4K views 50 replies 27 participants last post by  Luinir 
#1 ·
Squeaks out another win. :worship: Had to throw his racket about six times before he stopped missing his BH.
 
#13 ·
Yup, Lu was by far the better player up to that point and playing sharp. But he kept missing the kick serve out wide on both the ad and deuce court. That serve from Harrison and Lu's forehand breaking down is what ultimately turned the match around in Ryan's favor.

Both guys' weaknesses got exposed in this match but Ryan controlled his game and the overall situation better when it counted.
 
#26 ·
pulled Federer to a tie breaker a few months ago, of course his game is not mediocre. He does not really have any brilliant shocks but is very strong from the baseline and has much time to develop a great shot
 
#16 ·
Better players convert. Winning a lot of points but not executing on the important ones ≠ better player overall, no matter what stage of the match it is


Great stuff from Ryan, boring match, but the kid's a gamer and that's what it's all about. Exciting stuff for the future of American tennis.
 
#6 ·
Ryan!!! My man! After the first set and seeing his reactions I was pretty sure he can't climb back this time but I was wrong again. But to be honest he didn't play that well today but fought very hard and it's fantastic to see him reaching back to back semi finals. Rematch with Fish.
 
#11 ·
Harrison has Ferrer-like qualities in the way he moves and his fight. He's such a great competitor and he's a smart player. In the third set he started incorporating more slice, using the kick serve out wide more, and serving to the body more. He got better direction on the ball and started hitting more to the corners rather than down the middle. He's a little immature emotionally but wise beyond his years mentally.
 
#15 ·
Gotta agree. He does reming me of Ferrer and Hewitt in certain aspects. I'm not too bothered by his emotional outbursts. I don't think that he lets it get the better of him and he's still young. Love the court craft that he has as well. He's good to watch*.

*Generally. I did only tune in at 3-3 in the third for this one.
 
#18 ·
some are saying it's not a great thing harrison needing so many 3 setters...

i'd say it's the perfect scenario... getting that extra main tour mileage in his legs that every pro absolutely needs today... and at an age when not many are granted the same...

never mind that, he is winning a sick percentage of them lately too... great for the ego, sense of belonging and confidence that he is delivers in deciders like this...

game might be mediocre at times but the balls say he can red line at stages of matches others cant... that might mean a lot in the long run...
 
#20 ·
some are saying it's not a great thing harrison needing so many 3 setters...

i'd say it's the perfect scenario... getting that extra main tour mileage in his legs that every pro absolutely needs today... and at an age when not many are granted the same...


never mind that, he is winning a sick percentage of them lately too... great for the ego, sense of belonging and confidence that he is delivers in deciders like this...

game might be mediocre at times but the balls say he can red line at stages of matches others cant... that might mean a lot in the long run...

Agreed. Being able to grind out tough matches is one of the biggest obstacles for youngsters coming up on the main tour, just shows how match tough and relentless he is.

His serve is already pretty big and along with his groundstrokes will only get better. He'll learn to finish off points better in the near future.

What I really liked is his adjustments throughout the match. Mixing in more slices, serving and volleying a lot more, varying the 2nd serves, etc.
 
#22 ·
Lu would have won this in straights if his level didn't drop. Ryan is at this point in his career far too content to just grind matches out. He plays far too passively, just loops the ball and then runs everything down. He tried to play a bit more aggressively at the start of the second set, but the problem with that is his backhand is at this point too inconsistent for that. Luckily for him, though, Lu's level dropped considerably at the end of the second and Ryan snuck out the set. The third was more of the same, just back to retrieving behind the baseline until Lu coughed up some errors.

With all this being said, most of you are shortchanging him on some things. His second serve, which is already one of the best in the world, was invaluable today.
And at the end of the day, he won, is pushing up the rankings, and will have years to really develop his game to where it needs to get for him to realize his goals.
 
#24 ·
Did we watch the same match? Sure Lu dropped off a little, but it was because Ryan started giving him no rhythm and varying his shots a lot more.

It seems like he plays up/down to his level of competition, which isn't necessarily a good thing, he's got to keep a level of solid consistent tennis regardless of the opponent.
 
#27 ·
True about everything said, Smoke, and especially about his serve. His serve is very, very good, especially at his age. First serve can be predictable but he gets good pace, can hit all the spots, has great variety and an excellent and consistent kick serve. Plus he goes for his second serves so they aren't attackable. Similar things were/are said about another American that has spent a decade at or near the top of the game :p
 
#39 ·
Just to add, both Harrison and Lu should look at Murray and Djokovic on how they hit their backhands. Heck, they can look at Fish in LA. They both really lack fluidity in their backhands, especially Harrison. That's why Lu struggled so much on those kick serves and why Harrison struggles to create with his BH.
 
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