Three to watch on Thursday

The thought of getting a proper job did cross his mind when he started his comeback from that injury hiatus as no matter how hard he tried, he could not get his ranking beyond the 600s. But the Briton stuck at it and finally got his first ATP Tour victory last year: he beat Marc-Andrea Huesler at the Sofia Open. Our Billy had made it at the age of 28.

"It's definitely been a slow process," he told the BBC at the time. "To finally get my first main-draw win feels so special. I was always around top-five in my age group in the juniors but when I started off in the Futures it took a while to get going. I was travelling around in my Transit van for three-and-a-half years, with a bed in the back, cooking on the roadside and parking up in McDonald's car parks.”

From that starting point, Harris has moved ever upwards and now sits at No.202 in the pecking order (he hit a career-high No.181 two months ago). 

Better still, he is one match away from his first Grand Slam main draw. If he beats Valentin Vacherot, the world No.116 from Monaco, on Thursday on Court 14 (theirs is the first match) then the bigtime awaits: Harris will have qualified for Roland-Garros. 

It might be a big ask for the man from the Isle of Man but, then again, every step of his career so far has been a big ask. And he has survived.

Three to watch on Thursday

Moyuka Uchijima (JPN) v Raluka Serban (CYP) 

There are very few people who look back on the Covid pandemic with affection, but Moyuka Uchijima is one of them. A promising junior, she found the transition to the fulltime senior tour difficult. Part of the problem was that she could not find a regular training base. In 2019, she turned to Alan Ma and settled herself at his academy in China. And then Covid struck and she was locked down in China. 

The restrictions there were severe and with nothing else to do but train, she worked on every aspect of her game until the Chinese authorities allowed international travel again. It was the making of her. She flew up the rankings in 2022, struggled a little to defend those points the following year but is now back on track with her best ever ranking of No.80.

Hamad Medjedovic (SRB) v Geoffrey Blancaneaux (FRA)

Life is finally looking up for Hamad Medjedovic. Just when he thought he had the world at his feet last November, winning the ATP Next Gen Finals, his triumphal march into the new season was halted by a virus. The 20-year-old from Novi Pazar had to wait until he got the all-clear from the doctors before he could show the world just what he was able to do with racket and ball. 

Fortunately, he was given the green light before the start of the clay court season – and clay is his favourite surface. With countryman Viktor Troicki as his coach and Novak Djokovic as his idol, he is now one match away from reaching the main draw. And at No.134 in the world, he is 143 places higher in the rankings than Blancaneaux. Life is definitely looking up.

Alexandra Eala (PHI) v Julia Riera (ARG)

Make a note of the name: Alexandra Eala. Still only 18, Eala rewrites the record books almost everywhere she goes. That is mainly because there have not been any women from the Philippines to break through on the WTA Tour and also because Eala is good. She is very good.

Followed by a devoted Philippine audience wherever she goes, she collects social media followers hourly and has already been on the front cover of Vogue in her home country. She is used to the fame game, even at her tender age. Not that she pays it any heed: tennis is her focus and making progress is her goal. 

She has trained at the Rafa Nadal Academy in Mallorca since she was 13 as her topspin heavy lefty forehand may testify. The US Open junior champion two years ago, she is one step away from her senior Grand Slam debut.