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Lexus Surbiton Trophy

Surbiton Racket & Fitness Club 02 - 09 June 2024

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Billy Harris raises a racket in celebration at the Lexus Surbiton Trophy
International

Lexus Surbiton Trophy 2024: Billy Harris comeback seals career-best semi-final in Surbiton

• 2 MINUTE READ

Billy Harris is enjoying the best week of his tennis career and the Isle of Man star is dreaming even bigger.

The 29-year-old battled back from a break down in the deciding set to defeat former world No.39 Mikhail Kukushkin in the quarter-finals of the Lexus Surbiton Trophy.

The 5-7, 7-6(5), 7-6(4) win secured a place in the last four of an ATP Challenger 125 event for the first time, and Harris has no intention of stopping there.

He said: “I haven’t made the semis of a 125 so it’s definitely one of my best weeks. A final would be nice, so I’ll hope for the same again!

“The crowd definitely helped me get through the third set. They kept encouraging me the whole way through, which really helped.

“It was just one break down so I was thinking I needed to string a couple of good returns together on his serve and I could be back in it. That happened in the end, I played one good return game and the momentum switched back in my favour.

“I came out a bit flat at the start of the third but once I got that break back, I think I picked up the energy and felt like I was a bit more in control going into the tie-break.”

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The pair had met earlier this year in Lugano, with Kukushkin coming out on top in three sets.

And with the Kazakh player looking like he might do the same again here, Harris demonstrated a lot of character to fight back.

He added: “I’ve been working on trying to stay calmer when I’m down in a set and focusing point-by-point.

“I was thinking it's only one break, stay in there and try and play a bit more aggressively. He was moving me around very well towards the end so I had to go for it.

“You've got to serve well and hope you can hit winners. By the end of it, he was making every ball so I had to make a good shot to win any point.

“He's a good player who beat me last time so it's nice to get the better of him.”

This article was written by Paul Eddison at Sportsbeat.

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