South Africa's Lloyd Harris has reached the third round of the Australian Open after winning an epic five-set battle against local wildcard Alexei Popyrin.
In a seesawing contest that lasted exactly three hours, Harris prevailed 6-2, 1-6, 6-3, 6-7 (5/7), 6-3.
The match was fairly evenly contested, with Harris hitting 25 aces compared to Popyrin's 21. Both players hit 49 winners but Harris made slightly less unforced errors (51 compared to 57).
This is the furthest world No 91 Harris has progressed at a Grand Slam event. The 23-year-old will next face either Croatian 22nd seed Borna Coric or American wildcard MacKenzie McDonald on Saturday.
South Africa's other participant in the men's singles, Kevin Anderson, was knocked out in straight sets by Italian 9th seed Matteo Berrettini on Tuesday.
Berrettini, a semi-finalist at the 2019 US Open, won the two-hour, 23-minute contest, 7-6 (11/9), 7-5, 6-3.
.@lloydharris63 goes the distance and pulls off the five setter ??
— #AusOpen (@AustralianOpen) February 11, 2021
He outlasts Popyrin 6-2 1-6 6-3 6-7 6-3 ????#AusOpen | #AO2021 pic.twitter.com/Bs4DDGVbjf