SLS 172ES-7 ORIGINAL 2017 Second Extraordinary Session SENATE CONCURRENT RESOL UTION NO. 1 BY SENATOR PEACOCK COMMENDATIONS. Commends Ryan Harrison for his many accomplishments and on winning the French Open tennis tournament in men's doubles. 1 A CONCURRENT RESOL UTION 2 To commend Ryan Harrison for his many accomplishments in competitive tennis and for his 3 impressive play in winning the men's doubles title at the French Open tennis 4 tournament. 5 WHEREAS, Ryan Harrison of the United States and Michael Venus of New Zealand 6 faced Santiago Gonzalez of Mexico and Donald Young of the United States to earn their first 7 Grand Slam title in men's doubles at the French Open in Paris, France, on June 10, 2017; and 8 WHEREAS, the pair bested their competitors in three sets: 7-6 (7-5), 6-7 (4-7), and 9 6-3; the previous day, the duo reached the finals with a 4-6, 6-3, and 6-4 victory over 16th 10 seeded Colombians Juan Sebastian Cabal and Robert Farah; and 11 WHEREAS, Harrison and Venus work very well as a doubles team, they have grown 12 up playing tennis together; reared like brothers, both men trained by Pat Harrison, Ryan's 13 father; and 14 WHEREAS, born to parents Pat and Susie Harrison in 1992, in Shreveport, 15 Louisiana, Ryan was nearly destined to play tennis; his father, Pat, was a professional tennis 16 player and coach while his grandfather, Jimmy Harrison, was a tennis coach at C.E. Byrd 17 High School; and 18 WHEREAS, Ryan picked up his first tennis racquet at the age of two and proceeded Page 1 of 2 SCR NO. 1 SLS 172ES-7 ORIGINAL 1 to hone his skills to become a top-notch player; and 2 WHEREAS, Ryan Harrison plays right-handed with an impressive two-handed 3 backhand; and 4 WHEREAS, before the age of sixteen, Ryan was regarded as an athletic prodigy after 5 reaching the Top 10 in junior rankings and becoming one of the youngest players ever to win 6 an Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) match; he faced opponents who were larger 7 in stature and older in age; however, he was never intimidated, his confidence never waned, 8 and his focus never wavered; and 9 WHEREAS, as a junior, Ryan compiled a 60–24 win/loss record in singles and was 10 ranked as high as No. 7 in the world in 2008; and 11 WHEREAS, in May 2017, Harrison was ranked No. 41 in the men's singles category 12 by the ATP World Tour and is currently ranked No. 5 among the United States men's 13 singles; and 14 WHEREAS, Ryan has two siblings who are also rising stars in the world of tennis; 15 a younger brother, Christian, plays on the International Tennis Federation juniors circuit; and 16 a younger sister, Madison, currently competes at Mississippi State University; and 17 WHEREAS, Ryan Harrison possesses all the finest qualities of athletic ability, 18 physical fitness, determination, and competitive spirit that make a winner on the court, and 19 he sets a fine example for young aspiring athletes. 20 THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Legislature of Louisiana does hereby 21 commend Ryan Harrison for his many accomplishments in competitive tennis and does 22 hereby congratulate him on winning the men's doubles title at the 2017 French Open tennis 23 tournament. 24 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a copy of this Resolution be transmitted to 25 Ryan Harrison. The original instrument and the following digest, which constitutes no part of the legislative instrument, were prepared by Suzi Montague. DIGEST SCR 1 Original 2017 Second Extraordinary Session Peacock Commends Ryan Harrison on winning the men's doubles title at the 2017 French Open tennis tournament. Page 2 of 2