On Thursday, the 28-year-old overcame Finland’s higher-ranked Otto Virtanen in his second match of the qualifying tournament, played on the clay courts of Paris, after the tie was delayed for almost a full day.

Harris needed an hour and 34 minutes to defeat the 23rd-seeded Finn 6-4, 7-5, progressing to the third and final round of qualifiers. He sent down six aces – slightly below his usual standard – but has been managing a persistent back injury over the past year.

Lloyd Harris. Photo: X

Despite that, Harris outclassed his Scandinavian opponent in key aspects of the game. The former US Open quarter-finalist won an impressive 81% of points on his first serve and 76% on his second.

In the first round of qualifying, Harris enjoyed a more straightforward outing, beating Switzerland’s Marc-Andrea Hüsler 6-4, 6-2. Interestingly, his service game in that match wasn’t quite as sharp.

Next up, on Friday afternoon, Harris faces his toughest test yet – former world number three, Marin Cilic of Croatia.

Marin Cilic. Photo: ATP

The 36-year-old Cilic is no slouch on court, boasting a solid Grand Slam pedigree. He won the 2014 US Open at Flushing Meadows, defeating Japan’s Kei Nishikori in straight sets. He also reached the finals at Wimbledon in 2017 (losing to Roger Federer) and the Australian Open in 2018 (falling to the Swiss maestro once again).

His best performance at Roland Garros came in 2022, when he reached the semi-finals.

Friday’s qualifier is scheduled to start at 13:20.

OFM Sport/Morgan Piek cg