Ryan Harrison Has Big Test – He Plays Murray in Melbourne’s First Round

Written by: Staff on 13th January 2012

Brisbane International tennis tournament

Ryan Harrison Has Big Test - He Plays Murray in Melbourne’s First Round

Ryan Harrison of USA stretches out to return to Marcos Baghdatis of Cyprus during his first round match against at the Brisbane International tournament in Brisbane, Australia, 02 January 2012. EPA/DAVE HUNT AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND OUT |

Ryan Harrison is being touted as the next big thing in American tennis. Now the 19-year old, ranked 84, has an opportunity to prove he is worthy of the tag as he faces 2011 runner-up Andy Murray in the first round of the Australian Open.

In 2010 Harrison became the first American teenager, since Andy Roddick in 2001, to beat a top 20 opponent in a major when he upset Ivan Ljubicic at the US Open. In 2011 he reached the fourth round at Indian wells before running into Roger Federer, he reached the semi-finals in Atlanta, and in Shanghai he knocked off 16th-ranked Viktor Troicki. So far this year he fell to Marcos Baghdatis in the first round in Brisbane, and then beat Sam Querrey in Auckland before losing to Philip Kohlschreiber.

Harrison appreciates the favorable comments he has attracted, but he is anxious to produce the goods more often.

“I look at it (the attention) as a privilege, not as a pressure, because there’s two sides to it. You can look at it as everything’s on me and it’s a pressure to do this or do that,” he said. “That’s the way that will make you panic and ultimately destroy you.

“But I look at it as a privilege to be mentioned in the same sentence as some of the guys that I have. To this point obviously I’ve done some things right to put myself in that position, but at this time people are still talking about me being the next big thing. But there’s a difference between being a prospect and an actual producer, and I know I’m far away from being what I want to be.”