South Africa's Lloyd Harris through to second round at Wimbledon

The Cape Town star needed a touch over four hours to defeat world number 50 Bergs 7-6(9), 7-6(7), 6-5(7), 6-2 to reach the second round of SW19 for the third time in his career. 

Harris built his victory off the back of his powerful serve, as he nailed 23 aces in the tie. The opening set was dominated by the serve, resulting in a tiebreaker. Harris needed five set points, but he eventually took the lead. 

The pair traded breaks on the second set on their way to another tiebreaker, which Harris dominated. Deep in the third, Bergs saved two match points to eventually force a tiebreaker which he won.

But the wheels came off for Bergs in the fourth, as Harris ran off the first four games in 17 minutes on his way to victory.

Harris awaits the winner between 14th seed Audrey Rublev and Laslo Djere. Rublev knocked the 28-year-old Harris out of the French Open in the opening round in May, winning three sets to one.

The nation's number one ranked singles player reached the second round at Wimbledon in 2024, where he lost to Ben Shelton in four sets. The South African peaked on the world rankings at 31 in 2021, but a lack of tournaments has seen him fall outside the top 300. But Harris seems to find a way in the slams, going as deep as the quarterfinals of the US Open in 2021.  

Issued on SABC Sport | https://www.sabcsport.com/news/south-africa-s-lloyd-harris-through-to-second-round-at-wimbeldon