Tennis Atlantic

Seeds Advance In Saturday Qualifying at BB&T Atlanta Open 2016
Steen Kirby, Tennis Atlantic

The seeds advanced to final round qualifying at the 2016 BB&T Atlanta Open, as most of the matches were routine straight set affairs on a Saturday that was interrupted by intermittent rain showers.

ATP veterans Tobias Kamke and Mischa Zverev won the by the exact same score of 6-4 6-2 on the day, over Michael Mmoh, and Matt Reid respectively. Neither player was broken in their matches as they both got necessary breaks to gain quick wins and get out of the heat. Australian James Duckworth made the final round qualies after a 6-2 6-2 victory over Juan Ignacio Londero. Fellow Aussie J.P. Smith joined him as Smith rolled past Andrew Carter 6-3 6-3. The lone South American success on the day, Brazilian top seed Thiago Monteiro dominated the young Trent Bryde 6-0 6-2.

Americans Chris Eubanks, a Georgia Tech player, Nicolas Meister, and Austin Krajicek also advanced to final round qualies in tighter matches. Eubanks upset Tommy Paul 6-2 7-5, as he scored a late break when the match looked headed for a third set. Meister slipped past Alexander Sarkissian 5-7 6-3 6-4, and Krajicek beat an in-form Lloyd Glasspool 7-6 4-6 6-4 in the tightest match of the day.

In final round qualifying matches, Kamke will face Smith, Monteiro faces Eubanks, Zverev will be opposite Meister, and Krajicek and Duckworth will battle it out. Kamke, Monteiro, Zverev, and most likely Duckworth will be favorites to qualify for the main draw.