SA tennis star Lloyd Harris on the comeback trail, reaches first ATP quarter-final since 2021

South African tennis star Lloyd Harris reached the quarter-finals of the Mallorca Championships after beating fellow qualifier Roman Safiullin 7-6 (7/5), 6-3 on Tuesday.

According to the ATP Tour, it will be Harris' first first tour-level quarter-final since October 2021.

This comes after Harris won his first ATP match in five months on Monday when he knocked out Spaniard Bernabe Zapata Miralles 6-2, 7-6 (7/2).

The Capetonian came through qualifying to reach the main draw of the ATP 250-level grass court event, which is a tune-up to Wimbledon.

Harris, who reached a career-high ranking of No 31 in 2021, is now down at No 298 in the world.

Harris missed the second half of 2022 after undergoing wrist surgery and has built his comeback gradually.

He recorded a 10-5 win-loss record for the season on the ATP Challenger Tour but arrived in Mallorca off the back of four consecutive defeats at ATP level.

Harris will next face Russian Pavel Kotov, who upset second seed Alejandro Davidovich Fokina 2-6, 6-3, 6-4.

The top seed at the Mallorca Championship is Greek world No 5 Stefanos Tsitsipas.

Harris, meanwhile, is also in the doubles draw in Mallorca. The South African and his Indian partner, Yuki Bhambri, have reached the quarter-finals where they will take on fourth seeds Marcel Granollers (Spain) and Horacio Zeballos (Argentina).