Tennis Atlantic

Atlanta Day 2: Amritraj upsets Devvarman, Ginepri comes back from a set down to defeat Dadamo, Young Advances

July 21, 2013–Atlanta had good weather today and tournament organizers were able to get everything finished on time with 2nd round qualifying.

The big match of the day was Prakash Amritraj’s 6-3, 6-4 upset of Somdev Devvarman in an all Indian battle out on Court 3. Amritraj overpowered Devvarman, and it was simply a bad matchup for him as Amritraj was able to push him off the court. Prakash’s aggressive play was error-free enough to get it done with a pair of breaks and consistent holding of serve.

Robby Ginepri came back from a set down and avenged his Winnetka challenger retirement against Jeff Dadamo 3-6, 6-1, 6-3. Dadamo opened strong, but basically fell apart the final 2 sets, especially at the end, allowing Ginepri to win again in front of home fans and reach the 3rd round of qualifying.

Mischa Zverev won on double duty today, 6-4, 6-3 over Nathan Rakitt and 6-3, 6-3 over Takura Happy, relying on serve and punching volleys to get him through both matches. Happy won his Round 1 qualifying match before that by a score of 6-1, 6-2 over Eric Sock.

Matt Ebden cruised to a double breadstick over Dean O’Brien 6-1, 6-1.Tim Smyczek beat Mitchell Frank 6-1,6-4. Kevin King beat Tyler Hochwalt, 6-7, 7-6, 6-1. Chris Guccione used his serve and cut off angles against Yuichi Sugita to win 6-4, 6-2. Donald Young overcame a slow start against Saketh Myneni 7-6, 6-3.

The final round qualifying matches will be contested between Ebden-Guccione in all Aussie battle, Smyczek-Young in an All-American battle, Amritraj-Zverev, and Ginepri-King in an all Atlanta battle.

—Steen Kirby