LIU, KLAHN, HARRISON QUALIFY FOR WIMBLEDON MAIN DRAW

A trio of Americans will join the 27 U.S. men and women already in the main draw when Wimbledon gets under way on Monday morning.
 

Reigning Wimbledon girls’ junior champion Claire Liu, Christian Harrison and Bradley Klahn each came through three qualifying rounds to secure their spots in the 128-player fields.
 

California native Liu, a former top-ranked junior, defeated No. 5 qualifying seed and countrywoman Nicole Gibbs, 6-4, 6-3, to give Team USA 17 women in the main draw.
 

Eighteen-year-old Liu, ranked No. 238 in the WTA rankings, will be making her second Grand Slam main-draw appearance, and her first in London, after a first-round loss in New York last summer.
 

In the men’s qualifying tournament, Harrison defeated Brayden Schnur of Canada, 7-6, 7-5, 6-1, while Klahn toppled Simone Bolelli of Italy, 6-3, 6-4, 7-6.
 

As with Liu (pictured above), Harrison will be making his main-draw Wimbledon debut and his second-ever Grand Slam appearance.
 

Harrison played in the singles main draw at the US Open in 2016, four years after reaching the quarterfinals of the men’s doubles as a teenager in 2012. The 24-year-old, the younger brother of world No. 58 Ryan, is currently up to a career-high of 200 after a solid spring that saw him reach the final of clay-court Challenger-level tournaments in Savannah, Ga., and Lisbon, Portugal, in April.
 

Klahn, meanwhile, will be playing in his first Grand Slam main draw in more than three years and at Wimbledon for just the second time in his career. The left-hander, ranked No. 170 in the world, lost his opening match in his only previous main-draw experience at the All England Club in 2014 and failed to qualify 12 months ago after returning from injury.
 

Stanford University alum Klahn reached as high as No. 63 in the rankings in March 2014 before undergoing back surgery twice in 2015, during which time he contemplated retirement and life after tennis.  

Klahn and Harrison join 11 other U.S. men in the main draw, including Denis Kudla who was awarded a wild card.
 

Elsewhere on Thursday, No. 19 seed Michael Mmoh lost to John-Patrick Smith of Australia in straight sets, sixth-seeded Caroline Dolehide fell to 2010 Wimbledon finalist Vera Zvonareva of Russia, 6-2, 6-3, and Jamie Loeb lost to No. 8 seed Mona Barthel of Germany, 7-5, 6-1.