He’s the son of a gun making his long-awaited Australian Open debut after hoisting two junior grand slam doubles crowns with Nick Kyrgios.
And while Kyrgios cools his heals ahead of his Tuesday start, late-blooming Andrew Harris will have the distinction of being the first Australian on court on day one of the Open at Melbourne Park.
The son of former Australian Open women’s quarter-finalist Anne Minter, Harris faces a baptism of fire against eighth-seeded Italian Matteo Berrettini in the first match at Melbourne Arena on Monday.
The 25-year-old Melbourne local earned a wildcard after soaring up the rankings from No.400 at the end of 2018 to his current standing of 162nd in the world.
Harris has taken a longer and vastly different route to the grand slam stage since winning the French Open and Wimbledon boys’ doubles titles with Kyrgios in 2012.
A graduate of the US college system, Harris honed his game under the guidance of Andy Roddick’s older brother John and came within a match of qualifying for the Wimbledon main draw last year.
He’ll have his work cut out against Berrettini, a US Open semi-finalist last year and the ATP’s most improved player of 2019.
But, win or lose, Harris is guaranteed $90,000 – the biggest checque of his career.
If he can pull off a huge first-day boilover, the battler would pocket a minimum $128,000 – more than half his entire career earnings of $231,000.