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SA's Harris captures Futures 3 Tournament

Stellenbosch – One of the brightest prospects in South African tennis, eighteen year old Lloyd Harris proved that he is a rising star in Stellenbosch on Sunday.

The Cape Town based junior captured the Digicall Futures 3 singles title played in Coetzenburg, at the University of Stellenbosch without dropping a set all tournament.

Harris seeded four was on a mission and wasted no time in the finals much to the approval of the local fans upsetting third seed Lucas Miedler in just fifty two minutes 6-2 6-1 to claim victory.

“I was more confident on court today and that made a major difference. I stuck to my game plan of playing aggressive with my forehand. After having  played Lucas in the Digicall Futures 2 finals last weekend and observing his game during the week my coach and I devised a game plan that I  stuck to today and it worked out very well for me.” said Harris.

This was Harris’ fourth Futures win this year. “This year has been pretty good so far this is my fourth Futures title of 2015 the first in Mozambique then Zimbabwe followed by a win in Egypt. I must say this win was the best, having the majority of the spectators routing for you is priceless. I was definitely more confident in today’s final no doubt about that. There is nothing like playing at home and having family and friends support you and people today really came out.” added Harris.

To end this year’s season, Harris plans to play in two Futures events next month in Nigeria. For 2016, Harris will focus on the Challenger tour with aim to qualify for ATP tournaments.

Lloyds coach Anthony Harris was beaming with pride after his charge won in the final. “Lloyds win came from him sticking to the game plan and not panicking. He played fast and kept it consistent. Also after studying his opponents game we realized his weaknesses which are him having difficulty with balls behind him and Lloyd used that to his advantage. This is just a small step in the bigger picture of things, it is also a victory to be celebrated as it indicates we are on the right track.”

In the women’s singles final unseeded Gabriella Taylor of Britain came from a set down to upset top seeded Naomi Totka of Hungary 4-6 6-2 6-1. It was a battle that lasted an hour and forty minutes and was especially sweet for Taylor being her first Futures win.

“Losing the first set even though it was quite close made me realize I needed to up my game. I stuck to my game and made sure I wasted no points” said Taylor following victory.

“I feel extremely happy today, and finished the Digicall Futures on a great high. I lost in the quarterfinals in the first week then the semis in the second and now I won the third week and dropped only two sets in doing so!”

The men’s doubles title went to third seeded Italian duo Fabio Mercuri and Luca Pancaldi, they upset the top seeded Austrian pairing of Pascal Brunner and Lucas Miedler 6-4 4-6 10-8.

In the women’s doubles South African Fed Cup players Madrie le Roux and Ilze Hattingh gave South Africa the second title of the tournament when they shocked top seeds Katharina Hering of Germany and Naomi Totka of Hungary 6-1 7-6 (5) in the finals.

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