Ryan Harrison has been on the radar for American Tennis for several years. The 24-year-old has yet to make a major breakthrough, however there is a hint that Harrison will be improving his play in the months ahead. The American just claimed his first tour title on Sunday, defeating Nikoloz Basilashvili in the final of the ATP Memphis 2017 draw.

Harrison's ranking will improve

The Memphis tournament used to be a 500-series event. Nowadays, it is only a 250-level tournament. However, with the title Harrison still picked up a nice 250 ranking points to go with his maiden title.

When the rankings update on Monday, he projects to a ranking of about 43rd in the world.

Harrison has been ranked that high before as he was the World No. 43 on July 16th, 2012. However, the American has not always taken himself as seriously as many in the United States Tennis Association would have hoped that he would. In recent seasons he has spent plenty of time outside of the Top 100 on the ATP Tour. Following his success this weekend, there will be numerous people involved in American tennis that will be delighted to see that Harrison has finally turned in a noted result.

Harrison has been strong since last summer

If one was to try and pinpoint a turning point in Harrison's career of late, then one would look at the summer of 2016.

Entering ATP Washington, Harrison was ranked outside of the Top 150, he had to get into the draw through qualifiers, and he enjoyed a couple of main-draw victories before losing to Steve Johnson. Shortly thereafter Harrison negotiated his way to the round of sixteen in the Toronto Masters draw, with wins over John Isner and Andrey Kuznetsov en route.

At the US Open, Harrison again had to toil with qualifiers before getting into the main draw. But once there he did further damage, defeating Adrian Mannarino before eliminating Wimbledon finalist Milos Raonic in the second round.

Harrison's improved results still do not put him among the upper eschelon of men's tennis players on the ATP Tour.

However, it's generally taking a strong player to eliminate the 24 year old from draws. In Auckland earlier this season, he was able to win three matches before falling to Jack Sock. At the Australian Open, Harrison beat Nicolas Mahut before falling to Tomas Berdych. In the Dallas challenger, Harrison found no resistance as he cruised through the draw in straight sets to a title. Now in Memphis, he has his first tour-level title, again winning the event in straight sets.

Where Harrison will end up at year's end is a matter of speculation. However, a finishing position of about 30th might seem like a reasonable guess. Look for Harrison to attract some attention in Indian Wells and Miami in March, two tournaments that he has worked hard to get into as a direct entry.