South Africa's Lloyd Harris survives thriller to advance at Australian Open

The South African number one blew a two-set lead but rallied at the death to win 6-4, 6-1, 6-7(0), 6-2, 7-6(10) on the hard courts of Melbourne.  

Despite coming off surgery, Harris was off to a fast start, breaking Musetti to love in the opening game. He then saved one break point on his way to taking the set. The South African star turned up the heat in the second set, needing just 24 minutes to earn three breaks of serve and take a two-set lead.

But the Italian found some form in the third, forcing a tiebreaker which he dominated to love to extend the match. He took that momentum into the fourth, taking advantage of Harris' growing unforced errors to force a fifth set. 

The pair swapped breaks as they slugged it out deep into the hot Melbourne evening, tying it up at 6-6 to usher in a ten-point tiebreaker. After nearly four hours, Harris would convert his first match point and close out proceedings.  

The 25-year-old from Cape Town improved his head-to-head record against Musetti to 1-1, after the Italian knocked him out of the Forli Challenger in 2020. It also marks his first appearance in the second round of the Australian Open. Harris is the sole South African competing in the first Grand Slam of 2023.

Harris will play Marton Fucsovics in the second round, after the Hungarian won a five-set thriller over Federico Coria 4-6, 7-5, 2-6, 7-6(8), 6-2 earlier in the day. 

The pair have met five times before, with Fucsovics leading their tie 3-2 after having won both their clashes in 2022.

Harris, who peaked at world number 31 in September 2021, missed the second half of the 2022 season due to a right wrist injury that required surgery, which saw him fall out of the top 200.