Davis Cup: 'One of the best debuts' - Leon Smith praises 'immense' Billy Harris for big win on Great Britain bow
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Published 12/09/2024 at 08:38 GMT+1
Billy Harris has had a year to remember, and his late career surge continued on Wednesday with a tie-winning singles victory over Finland's Otto Virtanen in Manchester. The 29-year-old, who only picked up his first Tour-level win last November, won in straight sets to ensure Great Britain got off to a winning start and captain Leon Smith called it "one of the best debuts you''ll have seen".
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Great Britain’s Davis Cup captain praised “immense” Billy Harris for “one of the best debuts” after the late bloomer inspired an opening 2-1 Group D win over Finland.
Harris used to drive a transit van around Europe between tournaments and only secured his first career ATP Tour win in November 2023 at the age of 28.
But he earned a place in Smith’s Davis Cup squad following a run to the quarter-finals at Queen’s and semi-finals in Eastbourne this summer, and vindicated his call-up with a 6-4 7-6(7) win over Otto Virtanen in Manchester on his debut.
Harris’ win secured an opening victory for Britain after Dan Evans beat Eero Vasa 7-6(7) 6-2 in the opening singles rubber, with US Open semi-finalist Jack Draper rested.
"I'm absolutely thrilled for Billy – I think that's one of the best debuts you'll have seen. It was that good," said Smith.
"If you look at Otto's record over the past couple of years in the Davis Cup it's pretty flawless.
"Billy actually could have won in a more straightforward manner – he was absolutely immense. Nothing really kind of fazes him, even though he's not really been on a big court before."
Harris was left pinching himself once again after another landmark moment that continued his late-career surge.
Asked where the win ranks, he said: “I think making my debut for Great Britain and winning on my first cap probably tops it all so far.
"Three years ago, I was probably ranked about 600, so I had no chance of getting near the team. But I've been improving each year since then and feel like I was ready to step into the team once I got called up."
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The only sour point for Smith was his team’s inability to complete a rout, as Evans and Neal Skupski suffered defeat in straight sets to Harri Heliovaara and Virtanen in the final doubles rubber.
"It feels disappointing because it is a long day and last year [at the same event] it almost came back to bite us, not getting that 3-0 on the first day," Smith said.
"But it is a positive day. At the start, when you don't have Jack (Draper) and Cameron Norrie – your two highest ranked players - and end up winning a tie 2-1, you'd take that."
The win puts Britain in a good position in Group D, where they will also face Argentina and Canada in the four-team round-robin group stage as they look to book a place in the Davis Cup Finals with a top-two finish.
The Brits will face Argentina next on Friday, who suffered an opening 2-1 defeat to Canada, before taking on the Canadians on Sunday, with both matches also on home soil in Manchester.
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