HARRIS OFFERS RAY OF HOPE FOR FALTERING SA
WHILST February is typically the month for international award ceremonies, SA Tennis has little reason to be sending off rockets and every reason to be sending up red flares: We’ve just suffered a total team eclipse, in the already bottom tiered, Euro – Africa Group 2, of both the Fed Cup and the Davis Cup.
Adding insult to injury, we lost to Portugal, a nation not noted for their tennis prowess, swallowing a defeat of our top doubles duo, Raven Klaasen and Ruan Roelofse.
Davis Cup stalwarts and ex-no1s, Abe Segal and Eric Sturgess, would be turning in their graves, but we cannot turn back the clock to bask in former glory and we can no longer blame Kevin Anderson for leaving the Davis Cup team in the lurch for five years.
We can take heart in the fact that 21-year-old Lloyd Harris has broken into the top 100 on the ATP tour, and former SA Australian Open semifinalist, Wayne Ferreira, has taken an interest and is currently assisting the promising young South African in an advisory capacity at the Delray Beach Open.
A recent win in Lexington, Kentucky catapulted Harris 47 places up the ATP ladder. If, as he claims, Ferreira has already imparted invaluable tour insights, then we can rely on Ferreira to prevail upon Harris that representing your country as a team is as important as carrying the flag, as a lone shark, especially if you have defected for over a decade. It’s called “Ubuntu” – coming together for the collective good.
Lest we forget, Ferreira, after his 1992 debut, played 26 ties, during a Davis Cup career spanning 13 years with an impressive 41-18 win loss ratio – still a South African record for most rubbers won, leading us to three consecutive World Group quarter-finals.
He further teamed up with Amanda Coetzer to win South Africa the prestigious 2000 Hopman Cup – recently won by Roger Federer and Belinda Bencic.
So, yes, Harris is in the hands of the ultimate patriot if he chooses to continue to benefit from Ferreira’s depth of knowledge and character.
Someone currently adrift and minus a mentor, is the new world No1, Naomi Osaka, who as predicted, post-parting with coach Bajin, went into freefall at the Dubai Duty Free Championship, knocked out in straight sets in her first match wearing the coveted crown.
It is interesting that the very player from whom Osaka stole the No1 mantel, at the recent Australian Open, Simona Halep, who has fared better in the desert, progressing to the quarters, until ironically halted by Bencic, is staunchly defending her rival: Halep endured the pressure of being No1 twice, before actually winning a Slam and having eased progressively from No2 and No3 in the world to the top spot, as opposed to leapfrogging from 70 odd to
No 1, says that 21-year old-osaka, ( the same age as Harris, putting achievement into perspective), is bound to be initially uncomfortable under the weight of global expectation.
Halep also knows the added pressure of belonging to a nation – Romania – which like Japan, had never previously produced such a valuable commodity, as a female No 1.
It’s that first test of initiation as a champion, or would be champion, how long can you keep your foot on the accelerator, without feeling the urge to hit the brakes...? It’s paramount you have a steadfast navigator, like Ferreira, who has been in the driving seat, as Harris has recognised.