ON THE RISE... RYAN HARRISON Dolazi iz sportske porodice
It all started with Ryan's grandfather, Jimmy, a one-time All-American halfback at Louisiana Tech University and state championship-winning coach, who learned to play tennis from reading a book and soon gave lessons during the football off-season. He coached all five of his children including Pat, who briefly played on the satellite tour before retiring to get married and take up coaching.
Pat Harrison, a former director at Newcombe's Tennis Academy in New Braunfels, Texas.
Pat Harrison takes up the story, admitting, "When Ryan was three years old he would ask to go to work with me each day, and for a while I resisted.
"I finally took him one day, but told my wife to be ready to pick him up after an hour because he would get bored and want to come home. He never did. He would stay 12 hours a day with me.
"There was a big wall to hit on, right next to my teaching court and he would get a racquetball racquet and hit on it non-stop. When he got tired he would go in and watch the Cartoon Network. If I had a lesson cancelled, I would hit with him.
"I first noticed his talent very early. He could rally from the baseline before he was four. He was playing tournaments where you had to keep your score at age five, which is when all three of our children - Ryan, Christian and Madison - all played their first tournament. At the age of seven, Christian and Ryan qualified for the 12-and-under nationals and won a round."
Though Ryan Harrison now works with Scott McCain, his father - who he calls 'Sir' - maintains an active role. "My grandfather died in 1998, but my dad has always been and still is one of the most influential, if not the most influential person in my life," declares Harrison. "He's taught me everything I know. I have an enormous amount of respect for him. We have a great relationship and we talk all the time."
Hailing from a close-knit family, it is no surprise that Harrison admits to being "a big fan of smaller closed environments. I'm not a guy that likes to go out and party.”
Mladji brat Christian, teniser, imao zdravstvene probleme
Life looked to be on an upward curve. But in 2008, Christian, Ryan's younger brother and a talented junior himself, was forced to deal with a serious unexpected injury.
At first, doctors found a benign tumor in Christian’s quad, but later discovered a bone infection in his femur. "They drilled a hole the size of a dime in his hip," says Harrison. "Seeing him go through that and being healthy was one of the toughest things I've gone through. When he was going through that, I was trying to play and take each thing day by day."
Though Christian overcame the injury scare - he recently won a qualifying match at the Winston-Salem Open - he hasn’t completely recovered from the infection. "I talk to him before and after my matches and he’s kind of living his life vicariously through me right now," says Harrison. "When he’s out of commission, he’s lives to see how I’m doing.
"It’s a different weight I carry on my shoulders as an older brother, trying to set a good example. I’m trying to help out as much as I can with him and his development. I’m playing for a lot more than just to play a game.
"He’s not quite healthy but he’s a very promising junior, so he’s going to have a great shot at being a top professional himself."
Roddick's words of wisdom have helped Harrison, who admitted to DEUCE in Cincinnati, "Andy’s been a huge influence on me. We have a good relationship and we talk frequently. He's been a great mentor and huge advantage to have on the tour. I have a massive amount of appreciation for what he’s been able to help me with in my career."
As he enters the US Open with a career-best ranking of World No. 67, Harrison is full of confidence and is eager to produce his best showing at a Grand Slam championship. “From here on out, it’s just a matter of trying to go Top 50," he admits. "I think by the end of the year, with four months still left, I think a good goal would be to try and get seeded at the Australian Open, if I could get the ranking up high enough."
"I don’t have a whole lot of points coming off, just about 100-150 coming off the rest of the year, which is not that many for someone at the tour-level. If I play within myself and play well, I think I can pull off a seed in Australia."
For Harrison, anything is possible.