Sport
Manx Marvel Billy Finnishes Opponent!
Crosby’s very own tennis dynamo, Billy Harris, has done what no other Manxman has ever done this afternoon.
He stepped out on Manchester’s AO Arena, making his Davis Cup debut for Great Britain.
The 29-year-old took on Finland’s Otto Virtanen, who sits 110th in the world rankings, in the second single match of the tie.
The scene was set, the tension was high, and Dan Evans, Andy Murray’s recent doubles buddy, kicked things off with a no-nonsense win over Eero Vasa, straight sets, no messing—7-6(3), 6-2.
Then it was Billy’s big moment.
The former Castletown and Albany LTC member broke his 23-year-old opponents serve to win the first set of the pair’s encounter 6-4.
The Finn battled back in the second despite an early break of serve from Harris, with Virtanen breaking back to lead before the Isle of Man player responded in kind to make it 6-6 and force a tie-break.
But our Billy kept his cool, and seized control of the tie-break 7-4, securing the win for Great Britain!
Speaking to the BBC live on court immediately after his triumph, Billy was buzzing. He said: ‘Unbelievable atmosphere out here, the home crowd pulled me through in the end.
‘When it was tight, the crowd getting behind me there made a big difference so thank you all.
‘[Otto Virtanen] he’s a very aggressive player and I knew he was going to serve big throughout the match so just a matter of getting the return in as much as possible and taking the chances when they came.’
Asked what the highlight of his extraordinary 2024 has been so far, he added: ‘I think this has just topped it for me. We play week in, week out for ourselves and the first time playing for my country and a great start.’
Further group match ties follow in Manchester later this week against Argentina on Friday (September 13) and Canada on Sunday (September 15).
All three ties will be available to watch on the BBC Sport website and app, iPlayer and Red Button.
The top two in the group will progress to the last eight in Malaga in November.
