AO Player of the Day: Ryan Harrison

Each day of the Australian Open, Baseline will feature an AO Player of the Day that may not be the most famous face or headline-stirring upset, but someone who earned special recognition.

Five-setters in the first round of a Grand Slam are always brutal. For Ryan Harrison though, it was a milestone. On Monday, he battled past Dudi Sela, 6-3, 5-7, 3-6, 7-5, 6-2.

What makes this even more special is that most of the Americans—particularly the big names—were knocked out in the first round. The likes of Jack Sock, Venus Williams, John Isner, Sloane Stephens, and CoCo Vandeweghe all lost, leaving only a few players to carry the red, white, and blue torch into the later rounds.

Harrison was one of two men's wins (along with Mackenzie MacDonald) while Nicole Gibbs was the sole women's winner.