The outer courts at Wimbledon–or at any Grand Slam, for that matter–always deliver drama during the first few days of the tournament.
Monday at the All-England Club was no exception.
A whole host of five-setters–including a hard-to-believe four comebacks from two sets down–saw Lloyd Harris outlast Alex Michelsen 3-6, 4-6, 7-6(5), 6-2, 7-6(11-9) in three hours and 29 minutes on Court 9. Their marathon not only stood out because of the epic fifth-set tiebreaker but also because of the clinching point.
Harris, who served for the match at 6-5 in the fifth and led 30-0 in that game but failed to close it out, trailed 8-5 in the ‘breaker at one stage. He also saved a match point at 8-9 (on his own serve). With Michelsen serving at 9-10, the South African capitalized on his first chance in legendary fashion. A wild exchange from both the net and the baseline was complete with Harris hitting a diving forehand that left him sprawled on the grass, a backhand overhead, and finally a lunging forehand volley winner that again reduced him to a crumpled heap on the lawns on London–this time in triumph.
