RYAN HARRISON–AND HIS RACKETS– MOST RECENT AMERICAN CASUALTY IN STADIUM 1 AT INDIAN WELLS TENNIS GARDENS

Written by: Staff on 10th March 2017

RYAN HARRISON--AND HIS RACKETS-- MOST RECENT AMERICAN CASUALTY IN STADIUM 1 AT INDIAN WELLS TENNIS GARDENS

epa05839900 A fan sits in a seat at the top of stadium one during the 2017 BNP Paribas Open tennis tournament at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden in Indian Wells, California, USA, 09 March 2017. EPA/LARRY W. SMITH |

By Ricky Dimon

American men and women are a combined 0-9 in the main stadium at the BNP Paribas Open. That’s right; in nine tries through three days, Americans have failed to win a single match on the marquee court in Indian Wells.

The carnage began on Wednesday, when all five matches saw a woman representing the United States lose to a foreigner. Nicole Gibbs, CiCi Bellis, Danielle Collins, Bethanie Mattek-Sands, and Christina McHale all went down. Gibbs led by a set but ended up losing to Heather Watson 4-6, 6-2, 6-2, while Bellis also had her chances up 4-2 in the third set before falling at the hands of Kirsten Flipkens 4-6, 6-1, 6-4.

Two more American women–Irina Falconi and Alison Riske–crashed out on Thursday despite also being competitive. Falconi succumbed to Jelena Jankovic in three sets and Riske lost to Donna Vekic in a second-set tiebreaker.

A pair of their compatriots on the men’s side will also have a long break in between Indian Wells and Miami. Frances Tiafoe was beaten by Dusan Lajovic 6-3, 6-3 on Thursday afternoon and the night session did not end well for recent Memphis champion Ryan Harrison. In a rematch of a Memphis quarterfinal contest that Harrison took in straight sets, Damir Dzumhur exacted revenge in the form of a 6-4, 3-6, 7-5 victory after two hours and 10 minutes.

Ryan Harrison of the US serves to Nikoloz Basilashvili of Georgia, in their final match of the Memphis Open tennis championship at the Racquet Club in Memphis, Tennessee, USA, 19 February 2017. EPA/TANNEN MAURY

The Harrison-Dzumhur tilt was an absolute roller-coaster both physically and emotionally. Harrison dropped the first four games of the match and called for the trainer and doctor late in the opening set due to a lack of energy. Dzumhur needed a visit of his own from the trainer to deal with a nasty cut on his knee after he slid on the hard court as if he was playing at Roland Garros. Interestingly, both players also took medical timeouts during their Memphis showdown.

Seemingly energized by whatever the doctor prescribed him and with Dzumhur no longer speeding around the court quite as fast as he had been, Harrison had answers in set two after dropping the first. The world No. 45 surged to a 3-0 advantage and coasted the rest of the way. With momentum in hand, Harrison also seized an early break in the decider to lead 3-2.

But it all fell apart for the Louisiana native and Texas resident as he neared the finish line. Dzumhur broke back immediately, thus sapping both the energy and belief in his opponent. Once again tracking down almost every would-be winner by Harrison, the world No. 67 from Bosnia and Herzegovina eventually fought off a crucial break point at 5-5 to force his opponent to serve with the pressure on at 5-6. That’s when Harrison cracked one last time, as a netted backhand on Dzumhur’s second match at ad-out brought an end to things after midnight.

It also brought an end to Harrison’s rackets.

Two tirades after the final two points resulted in three crushed sticks. After missing a backhand volley at deuce, Harrison walked over to his chair and stomped on a racket that he wasn’t even using. When one more point sealed his losing fate, he destroyed both the racket he was using and another one that had been in the bag–both in ferocious fashion.

And with that Harrison marched off the court in defeat, leaving the three pieces of evidence behind him on the ground. American carnage so far in the desert? Absolutely.