Muller and Isner Setup Big Serving @BBTAtlantaOpen Semifinal

Posted by Admin on July 29, 2017
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Muller and Isner Setup Big Serving BB&T Atlanta Open Semifinal
Steen Kirby, Tennis Atlantic

Both Gilles Muller and John Isner continued their good form in recent weeks and eased into the semifinals of the BB&T Atlanta Open on Friday. Muller defeated Tommy Paul in just over an hour. The American was overmatched by Muller’s serve as Gilles fired 16 aces in a 6-3 6-1 victory. Muller saved all four break points he faced, and beyond a strong serve, he moved forward on return games as well breaking Paul four times. Paul had a chance to break early in the first set, but lost confidence thereafter. In the second set, Muller broke early and reeled off five straight games from 2-1 up in the second set.

Isner defeated Lukas Lacko 7-5 6-4. Lacko was outclassed by Isner’s high bouncing serve, his positioning on return was poor, and even though he did have a shot to break Isner once in the first set, he failed to take it, and finally Isner got a breakthrough in the first. The second set was close, but Isner broke and held in consecutive games from 4-4 to secure the match. Given the number of games played it was over rather quickly, and Lacko was meek in defeat. Isner fired 13 aces, and won almost 80% of his points on serve. Against Muller he’ll need to considerably improve his return game though.

Ryan Harrison and Kyle Edmund will square off in the other singles semifinal. Chris Eubanks seemed exhausted, as Harrison defeated him 6-1 6-2. Eubanks had 10 double faults, and faced twelve break points in the match, while generating none. Even though he fought hard, the college player was clearly fighting in vain as Harrison dominated proceedings and showed his style. Harrison won the first five games of the match, and Eubanks never found his way back into things.

Despite having fan support, top seed Jack Sock was out of sorts in the late match on Friday night, and Edmund prevailed 6-4 6-1.  Unlike the matches earlier in the day, rallies featured more prominently than serves. Edmund only faced one break point in the match though, and that was in a close first set. Sock went up a break 4-3, but lost his momentum due to a health incident with a fan in the stands, and prior to that a short rain delay. Edmund got it back to 4-4, and then won the next two games to take the set. The second set was one way traffic from 1-1, Edmund won five straight games and finished off Sock quickly, never letting him get back into things. Edmund had been bothered by a shoulder issue in the first set, but after the trainer worked on him his groundstrokes were sharper than before.

The Bryan Brothers dominated Chung/Nedunchezhiyan in the doubles to reach the semifinals. They are clear favorites to take the title given their strong form, and fan support.

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Storybook Run Continues for Chris Eubanks @BBTAtlantaOpen

Posted by Admin on July 28, 2017
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Storybook Run Continues for Chris Eubanks at BB&T Atlanta Open
Steen Kirby, Tennis Atlantic

Georgia Tech Senior Chris Eubanks won the second ATP match of his career, upsetting American young gun Jared Donaldson 6-4 4-6 6-2 in the second round of the 2017 BB&T Atlanta Open. The local favorite Eubanks backed up his round 1 win against Taylor Fritz, and again showed off fantastic power on the forehand side, and excellent footwork. Eubanks pushed Donaldson around the court in the first and third set. In the first he came back from a break down, securing two breaks in total to take the set. Donaldson hung tight though, breaking and then holding serve without incident in set 2. Even though the momentum was with the top 60 player, it was Eubanks who would break early in the third set, and then after saving a break point and holding for 5-2, he broke Donaldson on his third match point to take the match, rather quickly for a three setter. Although he’s unlikely to turn pro until after he completes college, his performance this week puts him in the conversation as one of the top young American men in tennis. After the win he reacted with pure joy, running around and high fiving spectators in a victory lap.

American men had a great day on Thursday in Atlanta, in the late match Jack Sock backed up his place as the top seed 6-4 6-3. His forehand and serve were too strong for Sela, who lacked the weaponry to compete with the American #1. Sela, who kept a positive attitude throughout the contest was broken in the opening game, and although Sock faced a bit of pressure, he managed to maintain his serve for the first set. In the second set Sela was again broken from the start, and although he had chances in two different Sock service games to break back, he couldn’t take them. Losing momentum, Sock broke late to finish off the match. It wasn’t the cleanest performance for Sock, but it gets him to the quarterfinals.

Ryan Harrison also kept his seeding, defeating John Millman 6-7 7-6 7-5. Harrison was cranky through the first two sets, but finally found his mojo. The first set featured a long rain delay, as both players traded breaks and ended up in a first set tiebreak. Millman faced pressure on his serve in the first set, but Harrison choked when he had a break point on his racquet. A poor tiebreak put Harrison under the pump. He responded well though, Millman would go up a set and a break, but Harrison used his power and defensive skillset to claw back. Millman was kept behind the baseline, and was broken serving for the match after having a break point/match point at 3-5 in the second set. Harrison would take an ensuing tiebreak to take things into a third set.

Lacking weaponry, Millman was overpowered in the third set, Harrison continued to struggle on break points, but he did save two on his serve at 2-3 in the third, and finally broke through to go up 6-5 in the third, and then serve out the match. Like Sock, Harrison was sloppy at times on return in particular, but a win is a win, especially in the Atlanta heat.

On the grandstand Kyle Edmund came back from a set down to defeat Peter Gojowczyk 2-6 6-4 7-5. The match was disrupted by a rain delay, but Gojowczyk played a much better first set. In the second set Edmund saved a break point and then broke Gojowczyk in the final game of the set to force a third. Edmund would be under heavy pressure in an up and down third set, he saved three break points at 1-1, lost his serve at 2-2 but broke back, and then finally broke through, breaking Gojowczyk to take the third set 7-5 on his second match point chance. Edmund has a solid chance at claiming the title this week if he can improve his form a bit.

In the doubles Koolhof/Sitak beat Molteni/Shamasdin, and Millman/Ratiwatana beat Qureshi/Ratiwatana in a matchup between brothers, where Millman found some joy despite the singles loss.

Tommy Paul Reaches Maiden ATP Quarterfinal @bbtatlantaopen

Posted by Admin on July 27, 2017
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Tommy Paul Reaches Maiden ATP Quarterfinal at BB&T Atlanta Open
Steen Kirby, Tennis Atlantic

Young American Tommy Paul had only one ATP level match win in his career prior to the 2017 BB&T Atlanta Open, and already he’s reached his maiden quarterfinal on tour. The 20 year old continued his great season overall defeating tour veteran Malek Jaziri 6-7 6-4 6-3, as he wore down Jaziri despite creating few chances to break serve until the final set. Jaziri’s shotmaking prevailed early, Paul was broken out of the gate, and although he got the match back to 4-4, he would lose the ensuing first set tiebreak from 5-5. In the second set it was dead even until Jaziri slipped up and got broken at 3-3. Paul would serve out the second set without incident, and force a decider. At this point, the heat was causing Jaziri to struggle physically. The younger player, Paul had a fitness edge, and although Jaziri went up a break 3-1 and looked on his way to victory, Jaziri imploded from there, losing five straight games and with it the match, as the Tunisian’s body failed him. Paul capping off a great comeback as the underdog.

Joining Paul in the quarterfinals as an underdog is Lukas Lacko. If Lacko reaches the semifinals he’ll have more ATP wins than he’s had in the last two seasons combined. Lacko got to face Donald Young in round 2, and Young struggled in his home tournament again, crashing out in an hour of play 6-3 6-1. Young generated no break points and lost service games every time he went down a break point. It was a comprehensive performance from Lacko, and a debacle from Young.

Gilles Muller and John Isner setup a battle of big servers. Muller won the afternoon match against Quentin Halys 6-4 6-7 6-3. After breaking in the opening service game, the net broke, and there was a delay in the match. The in-form Muller saved two break points after resumption at 4-3 in the 1st, and then went on to take the set, as Halys never recovered that early break. In the second set both players took advantage of the fast, high bouncing court, there was routine service games, and then a second set tiebreak where Muller imploded on serve, and Halys force a third set. Muller got back focused in the third though, he didn’t waste time, breaking Halys to go up 3-1, he didn’t face a break point on his serve in the third, and although he missed one more shot at a break of serve, he still took the match 6-3 in the third.

John Isner won the last singles match of the day,  comfortable on the Atlanta Open courts, and on a winning streak, he eased past Vasek Pospisil 6-3 6-4. Pospisil was atrocious on return, and after going down a break early in the first set, he seemed resigned to dropping the opening set. Isner lost just one point on serve in that first frame. In the second set, Isner would lost just three points on his serve, and never face a break point. Pospisil, was under pressure twice on his serve, and was broken once, as the scoreline hid how far apart Isner and Pospisil were in terms of performance.

In doubles action the winners were Raja/Sharan in three sets over Gonzalez/Lipsky, Chung/Nedunchezhiyan over the Sock brothers, and Molteni/Shamasdin over Ryan Harrison and Michael Venus in three sets.

Eubanks Upsets Fritz, Pospisil Wins In Third Set Tiebreak @BBTAtlantaOpen Day 2

Posted by Admin on July 26, 2017
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Eubanks Upsets Fritz, Pospisil Wins In Third Set Tiebreak BB&T Atlanta Open Day 2
Steen Kirby, Tennis Atlantic

Georgia Tech’s Christopher Eubanks claimed his first ever ATP main draw match victory, upsetting ATP young gun Taylor Fritz 7-6 6-4. Eubanks showed his power, controlling the match against the struggling Fritz. The first set was nip and tuck, with neither player facing a breakpoint. Eubanks lost one point on serve in the ensuing tiebreak, but Fritz lost two, and with that, the set. In the second set Eubanks went up a break, and then saved the only break point Fritz created the whole match, going on to serve it out 6-4. Fritz struggling on return to make any inroads.

Joining Eubanks in the second round is Atlanta’s own Donald Young, the home favorite dominated Tim Smyczek 6-4 6-2, playing the same comfortable and smooth tennis that has seen him post one of his best seasons on tour in years, Smyczek never made inroads.

Three young Americans weren’t as lucky on day 2 of main draw action. Reilly Opelka had eight match points in the second set, but his serve fell apart in the third set and he ended up losing to veteran Malek Jaziri 5-7 7-6 6-1. The loss is yet another for Opelka, who has struggled this year to close out matches at the tour level, with just one win on tour this year.

Vasek Pospisil won a nip and tuck battle against Bjorn Fratangelo 7-5 4-6 7-6. With the ball flying in the heat, Pospisil took the first set with the only break point chance of the set, he failed to break Fratangelo despite three chances in the second set, and Fratangelo stayed alive with a late break. Pospisil faced a break point in the opening service game of the third, and three more serving 4-4, the American never saw a match point though, failing to take his chances on Pospisil’s service games, he would lose the tiebreak 7-3 in the third set.

American Frances Tiafoe hit with power and moved well for three sets, but fell to the more experienced John Millman. Millman winning 5-7 6-4 7-6 in over two hours. Millman struggled on serve in the opening set late on, he saved two break points at 4-4, but then was broken and dropped the set from 5-5.  Tiafoe wasn’t able to keep up his momentum in set 2, he was broken twice, once early on, and even though he got back on serve when Millman was serving for the set, he would get broken in the next game for a third set to ensue. Tiafoe served for the match in the third set, but never had a match point. Millman would break back and then snatch the tiebreak by a narrow margin.

 

The other singles winners on the day were Kyle Edmund, Peter Gojowczyk, and Dudi Sela. Edmund beat a struggling Marcos Baghdatis 6-3 7-5. Edmund was the better mover, and in the heat Baghdatis wilted a bit, failing to create chances in his return games. Gojowczyk kept up his momentum from a positive week in Newport, he won a later afternoon battle with Guido Pella 4-6 6-3 7-6 even though he was down a set and a break to open the match. The tiebreak was close, but only Gojowczyk had a match point. In a match that was not serve centric, the underpowered Sela beat Konstantin Kravchuk 7-5 6-2, coming back from a break down in the opening set.

In the doubles, the Bryan Brothers avoided being knocked off by Matt Reid and J.P. Smith via a super tiebreak. Qureshi/Ratiwatana beat Donald Young and Nick Monroe in a very close nightcap match, and Koolhof/Sitak beat Cox/Reinberg in yet another super tiebreak.

 

Paul Upsets Chung, Kozlov Unlucky Against Halys on Day 1 @BBTAtlantaOpen

Posted by Admin on July 25, 2017
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Paul Upsets Chung, Kozlov Unlucky Against Halys on Day 1 at BB&T Atlanta Open
Steen Kirby, Tennis Atlantic

Tommy Paul, ranked barely inside the ATP top 300, earned one of the biggest wins of his career in Atlanta. The 20 year old came back to defeat Hyeon Chung 4-6 6-2 6-3 after coming through weekend qualifying with a pair of three set wins. Chung, a top 60 player at just 21, had miles more ATP experience in the matchup, and was a heavy favorite after taking the first set, but it was Paul who found his fourth gear and won the last two sets.

The first set was a sloppy affair as Chung dropped service twice, but Paul dropped serve three times. Paul played his best in set two, breaking Chung twice, while Chung had no breaks. The trend in favor of Paul continued in the third set, he went up a break twice, and in the end he broke Chung to win the match. The young gun Korean was let down by his rusty serve without the match, as it was an unreliable tool in his arsenal. Paul, backed by a strong serve, won just the second ATP match of his career.

Another young American, Stefan Kozlov, wasn’t as lucky, facing Quentin Halys, he came up just a few points short, as Halys won 7-5 7-6. The 20 year old Frenchman won his first tour level match of the season in just under 20 hours as he broke twice in the first set, saved a break point in the second set, and then overcame losing three match point chances up 6-5 in the second set to take the tiebreak after a total of six match points. Kozlov didn’t go away, but he wasn’t able to pull ahead either.

In other action on a rainy opening day of main draw play in Atlanta, Lukas Lacko dominated Thomas Fabbiano 6-1 6-2, and Jared Donaldson put away Ernesto Escobedo 6-3 6-1.

The doubles winners were Raja/Sharan, Millman/Ratiwatana, and Gonzalez/Lipsky as all three teams advanced into the last eight in the doubles competition.

2017 ATP Atlanta Preview and Predictions (@bbtatlantaopen)

Posted by Admin on July 24, 2017
Posted in: Atlanta, ATP, BB&T Atlanta Open, Steen Kirby. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , . Leave a comment

2017 ATP Atlanta Preview and Predictions
Steen Kirby, Tennis Atlantic

Tennis Atlantic is happy to provide week long credentialed coverage of the 2017 BB&T Atlanta Open, as ATP tennis again returns to the biggest city in the South.

BB&T Atlanta Open
ATP World Tour 250
July 24-30, 2017
Atlanta, GA, USA
Prize Money: $642,750
Surface: Hard

Top 4 seeds (who all receive first round byes) (ATP ranking in parentheses)
1: Jack Sock (18)
2: John Isner (19)
3: Gilles Muller (22)
4: Ryan Harrison (49)

With so many Americans in the field, and three of the four top seeds Americans, it’s likely the BB&T Atlanta Open will produce another American champion.

Top Half:

Jack Sock has been great on hard courts this season and will be happy to return to the surface where his forehand can shine. Presuming a healthy Dudi Sela defeats Konstantin Kravchuk he should face off with Sock. Sock should overpower the Israeli battler to reach the quarters. Marcos Baghdatis serves a bit of a dark horse in this section of the draw, he could catch fire with his shotmaking, but Kyle Edmund is the favorite to defeat Baghdatis round 1. I’ll pick an in-form Peter Gojowczyk to defeat dirtballer Guido Pella, and Edmund before falling to Sock in the quarters.

It looks like Ryan Harrison‘s time to return to form in the second section of the draw.  The athletic Frances Tiafoe isn’t in good enough form, even if he defeats John Millman, and although Jared Donaldson should beat Ernesto Escobedo, Harrison is the most accomplished player in this section for a reason. Young gun Taylor Fritz plays local favorite Chris Eubanks and could get knocked off, as he’s struggled this year on tour. Harrison over Donaldson is the pick for the quarters.

Bottom Half:

With three ATP Atlanta titles in his trophy case, and a new trophy from Newport all in the back of his mind, local favorite John Isner looks set to take out fellow big server Vasek Pospisil, and then Donald Young in the quarters. Young opens with Bjorn Fratangelo, Lukas Lacko and Thomas Fabbiano are also in this section, while Pospisil opens with Bjorn Fratangelo.

Fresh off his run at Wimbledon, Gilles Muller returns to the ATP tour as a favorite against either Stefan Kozlov or Quentin Halys, both young qualifiers. Look for the talented young gun Hyeon Chung to run past Tommy Paul, and either Malek Jaziri or big server Reilly Opelka to setup a big quarterfinal match. Muller’s serve and volley should be good enough to earn him the win.

Dark Horse: Hyeon Chung

Chung is quite talented, but hasn’t quite put all the pieces together yet. This tournament presents a great opportunity for him to make a big breakthrough, as he has a reasonable path to the final if he can return big servers well.

Predictions

Semis
Sock d. Harrison
Isner d. Muller

In what should be an all-American final, America’s two best players should face off in the Atlanta final. Isner loves playing in Atlanta and should be able to keep up his pace from Newport to get another title.

Finals
Isner d. Sock

2017 ATP Hamburg Preview and Predictions

Posted by Admin on July 24, 2017
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2017 ATP Hamburg Preview and Predictions
Steen Kirby, Tennis Atlantic

Hamburg is on the calendar again this year, it’s a 500 level stop, meaning making a deep run can meet quite the rankings boost.

German Tennis Championships
ATP World Tour 500
Hamburg, Germany
July 24-30, 2017
Surface: Clay
Prize Money: €1,499,940

Top 4 seeds (ATP ranking in parentheses)
1: Albert Ramos (24)
2: Pablo Cuevas (26)
3: Karen Khachanov (32)
4: Gilles Simon (39)

Top Half:

Spain’s Albert Ramos should get past Leonardo Mayer, a lucky loser, and either J.L. Struff or Evgeny Donskoy, Fernando Verdasco is the favorite in the top section though. He reached the semis in Bastad and presuming he can get past a tough opening round match with Jiri Vesely, he should ease past Horacio Zeballos or wild card Daniel Altmaier.

David Ferrer just won his first title in two years, he should continue his form on clay and defeat Nikoloz Basilashvili, Federico Delbonis, presuming Delbonis defeats Carlos Berlocq, should pose trouble in round 2, but I’ll tip Ferrer. and he should also beat Karen Khachanov, who is having a great season. The Russian opens with Rudolf Molleker, making his ATP debut, then should face Aljaz Bedene, presuming Bedene defeats Rogerio Dutra Silva.

Bottom Half:

Pablo Cuevas will face Andrey Kuznetsov to start off,  and I’ll back the in-form Kuznetsov to get the upset. Marco Cecchinato should be next up for Kuznetsov, Florian Mayer is also a possibility. Diego Schwartzman is the favorite for the quarters above, he opens with Andreas Haider-Maurer, a qualifier, either Cedrik-Marcel Stebe or Damir Dzumhur will follow.  I’ll back Kuznetsov to reach the semis.

Everyone but Umag champion Andrey Rublev has struggled in the third quarter of the draw, Gilles Simon and Philipp Kohlschreiber have plenty of elite experience, but are not playing well, Max Marterer is a wild card, Tommy Haas and Dmitry Tursunov are aging veterans in poor form, Benoit Paire lost in the opening match of his last tournament, and Nicolas Kicker has yet to make real inroads on the ATP tour. I’ll back Kohlschreiber over Paire at home in the quarters, as Rublev should be gassed.

Dark Horse: Andrey Kuznetsov

Kuznetsov should score the early upset against Cuevas, and go as far as the final from that point.

Predictions:

Semis
Verdasco d. Ferrer
Kuznetsov d. Kohlschreiber

I can’t predict Ferrer to go back to back in consecutive weeks given his age, Kuznetsov is playing well enough to make the final, but Verdasco should be a slight favorite in Hamburg.

Final
Verdasco d. Kuznetsov