All Eyes on Harrison Once Again at the U.S. Open

After an up and down summer, Ryan Harrison is once again earning increased focus as America's possible next breakout star at the U.S. Open.

By Erik Gudris

Ryan Harrison speaks to Brad Gilbert after his first-round win at the 2012 US Open

(August 30, 2012) --- Each year during the U.S. Open, the familiar question of “what's happening with American men's tennis?” gets asked a lot as we are now nine years removed from Andy Roddick being the last U.S. player to win the title at Flushing Meadows. In the last two years, Ryan Harrison has emerged as a possible heir apparent to the likes of Roddick and even Andre Agassi and Pete Sampras. But despite reaching a career-high ranking earlier this year, Harrison's 2012 season hasn't suggested that he's ready to be the next American superstar just yet.

But after losing three of his last four matches, Harrison's first-round, straight-sets win Wednesday over Benjamin Becker has the 20-year-old going in the right direction.

“I think that those guys have obviously had such extraordinary careers,” Harrison said when asked about being considered as either the next Agassi or Sampras. “They've done so well for U.S. tennis. I've got such a long ways to go. Hearing stuff like that doesn't really come into play. I mean, I've never made third round of a slam. After that you got to get to the second week. It only gets tougher from there. I have a long ways to go.”

Expectations always get magnified for American players competing in New York and that's even more so for Harrison, who burst into national prominence by beating Ivan Ljubicic in the first round back in 2010. Last year, Harrison crashed out to Marin Cilic in the same round; his on-court antics during the loss -- including a drop-kick to his racquet -- earned the Louisiana native a fair amount of boos on Louis Armstrong Stadium.

But it's not just Harrison's often testy behavior that has gotten him into trouble. Harrison's game itself still feel likes a work-in-progress that alternates from him hitting with powerful authority on all sides of the court in some matches while other matches see him attempt to grind away from the baseline with mixed results. Different opponents may have something to do with this, but unlike some of his fellow contemporaries like Milos Raonic and Bernard Tomic, it's still hard to pin down what Harrison's strengths are aside from his serve and overall hustle.

While it make take Harrison more time for both his game and demeanor to mature, one thing that might help his cause is the fact that he's not the only young American with potential. So far at this U.S. Open, the wins by Steve Johnson, Bradley Klahn, and Jack Sock not only could inspire Harrison, but also take some of the pressure off of him from hungry American fans who have viewed Harrison as the country's only real young hope.

“I think we've had four or five young Americans win a first-round match which is great for U.S. tennis,” Harrison said. “ To have this happening here, it gives us a good chance. I think one of the best things about this whole group of guys is how determined and motivated everyone is. You've heard obviously the lack of work ethic and all the chirps that you want to hear about that, but I think all these guys – I can speak especially for Bradley and Steve – that they work really hard.”

Harrison will have his work cut out for him he wants to make a career best third round showing in New York. He next faces 2009 champion Juan Martin Del Potro who will be the eighth current top ten player Harrison has faced in his young career. It will be a tall challenge to face “the tower of Tandil” but Harrison will be ready for it.

“If I serve well, everything kind of becomes a lot less, I guess, pressure on the rest of my game because I can dictate and I can actually swing out on some return games and have a little bit of a crack because there's not as much pressure,” Harrison said when asked how he will approach the match. “It's going to start with that. If things go my way, then I know I can return well enough to where I can put some pressure on him. I play good defense, so with some of his shot making, I can make him hit a couple extra balls on some of his service games. Like I said, it's not going to be easy, but I think I have the game to do it.”

(Photo Credit: Andy Kentla)