Christian Harrison rallies for Wichita Tennis Open title

Even after dropping the first set of the Wichita Tennis Open singles final by a lopsided 6-1 score Sunday, Christian Harrison wasn’t worried.

“I got behind, but you’ve got to stay with it and have that belief that you kind of trust yourself a lot more,” said Harrison, who rebounded to win the second set, then forged ahead at the end for a 1-6, 6-2, 7-5 victory over top-seeded Michael Mmoh at the Coleman Tennis Complex.

No. 2 seed Harrison broke Mmoh’s serve for the victory, but he said the match’s turning point occurred a little earlier.

“Definitely early in the second (set), because I was able to get a good hold of that first game,” Harrison said, “then you kind of say ‘All right, new set, new game, new match is starting.’ Then, when I was able to break him to go up 2-0, I felt a little bit of momentum, then he tried to come back and we had a tight game.

“Once I held to go up 3-0, then I could feel the momentum shift in my favor. Some shots he was making early on when he was confident, he started giving me more errors, just because I was starting to do things a little bit different.”

In the third set, Harrison said he had a solitary mantra.

“It was just, ‘Next point, next point,’ ” he said. “I got down an early break (in the third game), and just try to think what I can do to even this match. I just wanted to trust myself, bear down and prove to myself that I could win a tight match and a tight final against a younger, great player. You’ve just got to stay strong to win.”

From there, Harrison was at a point to win the match.

“I got a break to make it 4-all,” he said. “That was crucial. After you get that break, you don’t ever want to give up a loose game right back.”

Each player held serve to make it 5-5, then Harrison said he just concentrated on getting his first serves in, opening with an ace and taking all four points for a 6-5 lead. He dropped the first point of the next game and was behind 40-15 before getting to deuce and closing out the match.

The victory gave Harrison the $3,600 winner’s share of the $25,000 tournament purse. It was his second straight International Tennis Federation Futures tournament title after winning at Tulsa last week. Mmoh won $2,120.

After being dogged by injuries the past couple of years, Harrison was thrilled with his recent hot streak, saying it will help him advance in the rankings.

“That’s the goal,” he said. “Once you get on a roll, and especially in those tighter moments, you step up. You’ve just got to keep putting in the work, keep trusting in yourself, and do everything you can. That’s all you can do, really.”

Harrison and Mmoh had not previously faced each other in a match, but have played plenty of tennis with each other while training in Florida.

“The thing about tennis is, you know who everybody is,” Harrison said. “Sometimes you have to hit with guys you’re playing. By now, at this level, everybody knows that and knows how to handle that.

“You’re going to run in to your training guys, and that’s just the nature of the sport.”

This story was originally published July 9, 2017 at 4:30 PM with the headline "Christian Harrison rallies for Wichita Tennis Open title."