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
Tennis Atlantic 