American tennis player Ryan Harrison has reached the second round of the Rakuten Open Japan Tennis Championships. World No. 52 Harrison edged qualifier Yusuke Takahashi in a three-setter in Tokyo 6-4 4-6 6-4. It was the first-ever meeting between the two.
Takahashi got off to a 2-0 lead and blew six break points in the third game to open up a 3-0 lead. Japan's Takahashi paid the price for not converting his break point chances. Harrison overturned his deficit to a 3-2 lead. The American broke the Japanese in the 10th game to close out the opener with a 6-4 score.
Both players were tied at 2-2 after trading early breaks of serve in the second set. Takahashi then broke Harrison once again to open up a 3-2 lead. The qualifier then held on to his serve to force a decider, eventually.
Takahashi broke Harrison in the opening game of the third set. However, Harrison broke back the Japanese in the following game to make it 1-1. The decisive break of serve in the 10th game handed Harrison the win.
Harrison hit five aces and broke Takahashi five times during the match. The American also saved 6-of-10 of Takahashi's break point chances. The match came to an end after just over two hours of play.
Harrison plays Anderson next
Harrison is now set to meet No. 5 seed Kevin Anderson in Tokyo.
Anderson handed straight sets defeat to world No. 45 Gilles Simon 6-2 7-6 (7-). Anderson now has a 3-0 head-to-head record against Simon.
Anderson opened the match with a 3-0 lead. Simon saved five break points in the sixth game to not go 5-1 down. Anderson converted his third set point on Simon's serve in the eighth game to win the opener.
As no breaks of serve were seen, the second set went into a tie-break. Anderson seemed to be cruising to victory as he was 4-1 up in the tie-break. Simon bounced back -- clinched a set point at 6-5 -- but couldn't convert. Anderson won three points in a row to avoid a decider.
Anderson fired 17 aces and won 85 percent of his first serve points against Simon.
Anderson broke Simon twice and didn't face a single break point chance during the match. It took an hour and 32 of action for the match to come to an end.
Harrison eyeing first win over Anderson
Harrison and Anderson will be meeting for the third time in their respective careers when they clash off in Tokyo. Harrison has yet to beat Anderson in his career. The South-African beat the American in Atlanta in 2015 and in Stockholm a year ago. It will be a tough ask for Harrison to beat 2017 US Open runner-up Anderson. It remains to be seen can the American pull off an upset and defeat the No. 5 seed.
