Seventeen-year-old Ryan Harrison of New Braunfels, Texas, won his first career professional tournament Sunday at the $15,000 Balubutin's Chico Pharmacy Tennis Classic in Chico, Calif.
Harrison, who entered the tournament unseeded and ranked No. 993 in the world, won all five of his matches during the week without dropping a set, including the final, where he defeated Filip Krajinovic of Serbia, 6-3, 6-4.
Harrison made national headlines in April 2008, when, as a 15-year-old, he knocked off world No. 95 Pablo Cuevas at the U.S. Clay Court Championships in Houston as a qualifier. He lost to James Blake in the second round but became only the third 15-year-old to win an ATP match since 2000 (joining Rafael Nadal and Richard Gasquet). Later that month, he and partner Michael Venus reached the doubles final at the $50,000 USTA Pro Circuit event in Baton Rouge, La., in April 2008 as lucky losers.
Harrison peaked at No. 7 in the ITF World Junior Rankings in January 2008, following a semifinal finish at the Australian Open juniors. He recently reached the quarterfinals of $50,000 Sarasota, Fla.
He was also recently selected as one of the practice partners for the U.S. Davis Cup team and will travel to Croatia the week of July 6 in preparation for the Davis Cup quarterfinal match against Croatia that weekend.