Australian Open: SA's Lloyd Harris knocks out 17th seed Lorenzo Musetti

South Africa's Lloyd Harris produced an upset on the opening day of the Australian Open, knocking out the 17th seed, Italian Lorenzo Musetti, in five sets.

Harris, who has fallen to 186 in the world after a six-month injury layoff, won 6-4 6-1 6-7 2-6 7-6 to book his place in the second round.

The 25-year-old from Cape Town has been battling his way back to fitness after undergoing surgery on his right wrist in June 2022.

Harris said the last few months on the sidelines made the victory even more satisfying.

"Absolutely, absolutely. It's obviously been really hard, a lot of ups and downs," the South African told reporters after his win.

"Me and the team, family, everyone, we worked so hard for me to get back here.

"So it feels amazing to be back playing, enjoying the crowd, just enjoying the tennis. I had a blast out there."

Harris, who had a career-high ranking of 31 before his injury troubles, said seeing his career stall was tough.

"The hardest thing was to accept it mentally. Physically, there was a problem. I was limited. I was in a lot of pain and playing with a lot of pain.

"And I knew what had to be done and it was hard to accept. But as soon as I did the surgery, I went to a new page in the book. I actually felt happy. I was excited that we were going to get rid of that pain."

"I feel like I learned so much and could reflect so much. I think it just makes me a better player and person."

Harris will now face Hungarian Marton Fucsovics, ranked 78 in the world.

Fucsovics also needed five sets to get past Federico Coria of Argentina in his first-round encounter.

This article originally appeared on BBC Sport

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