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Billy Harris booked his spot in the quarter-finals of the Nottingham Open after an enthralling win over Arthur Gea on Tuesday afternoon.
On a day that saw three other British players defeated in the second round, the 31-year-old had to hold his nerve to overcome a resilient Frenchman 7-6(3), 6-7(3), 6-4 to progress to the final eight of his home tournament.
With the duo winning a tie-break each in the first two sets, the British number six played on the front foot in the third and final set and, at 4-4, he converted a break point before serving the match out.
He will now face Finland’s Otto Virtanen in the quarter-final, who defeated fellow Brit Felix Gill 6-2, 6-3 on Tuesday.
Alongside Gill, Jay Clarke and Jacob Fearnley were also beaten in their second round matches in Nottingham.
Progressing through qualifying into the main draw, Clarke took the first set in the opening match on centre court, but Australia’s Christoper O’Connell fought back to win 4-6, 6-4, 7-6(5).
A former champion in 2024 and has recently received a wildcard for the men’s singles main draw at Wimbledon, Jacob Fearnley was unable to get past second seed Benjamin Bonzi as he lost 6-1, 7-6(5) to the Frenchman.
Fearnley had opportunities to force the game into a third and deciding set as, in the tie-break, he had a 5-3 lead but Bonzi managed to reel off the next four points to claim the victory.
