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This is the first in a series of pieces about the Canadian journey at the US Open this year.
And it’s timely – Calgarian Cleeve Harper is set to make his Davis Cup debut Saturday in Halifax, in doubles with Liam Draxl.
We caught up with him at the US Open, where he made another debut – in the main draw of a Grand Slam. And won his debut, paired with former world No. 3 and three-time major winner Jean-Julien Rojer.
At 44, Rojer is 20 years older than Harper.
It was their first time teaming up – and it was a last-minute thing. Here’s what that looked like:
After that win, we caught up with Harper for a pretty interesting interview that kind of ran the gamut.
– How he got into the US Open, after coming close at Wimbledon
– Breaking into the top 100 after just 14-15 months out in the pros
– A LONG college career at the University of Texas that went through a red-shirt year, the pandemic, an undergraduate degree and a Masters’ degree in finance
– How he decided to make a run at it as a doubles specialist
– Some coaching help – finally!
– What’s next
We’d love to video this stuff. But not allowed at the US Open. So here’s the audio.
Their second round was competitive, but Harper and Rojer fell to the far more experienced and accomplished team of Maximo Gonzalez and Andres Molteni of Australia.
You could see the veteran Rojer offering a little more feedback, and tips, in this second match.
Which is like having a coach with you on court.
Here’s what that looked like:
