2018 BB&T Atlanta Open

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John Isner Comes Back from a Set Down for 5th ATP Atlanta Title
Steen Kirby, Tennis Atlantic

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John Isner continued to own the BB&T Atlanta Open, claiming his 5th title with a 5-7 6-3 6-4 victory against countryman and friend Ryan Harrison on a sweltering Atlanta afternoon.

Isner, who began the final as a favorite, needed 2 hours to secure victory as he dropped the first set against an opponent who didn’t have any fear when facing down a big server. Both players served well when three out of four points on serve as the first set saw 10 consecutive service holds to 5-5 without a break point. A long 11th game saw Harrison break on his lone chance, and then Harrison held at love to go up a set.

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In set 2 Isner was under significant pressure, as Harrison generated three break point chances at 1-1 to go up a break, and then one more at 2-2. However Harrison faltered in the 6th game of the set and then Isner held on to force a third set.

Isner took immediate advantage in the third set, breaking in the opening game, and Harrison was almost broken once more. As the match went on Harrison wore down as Isner fired 21 aces (8 in the third set) and served out the championship game at love. Even without tiebreaks it was a relatively high quality match as Isner won his second ATP title of the season while Harrison was defeated in his first final of the season.

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Nick Monroe and J.P. Smith defeated Harrison and Rajeev Ram in the doubles final, as it all came down a third set super tiebreak that Monroe/Smith won 10-8 for a 3-6 7-6 10-8 win off the back of two straight tiebreak wins.

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After reaching the semis at Wimbledon, Isner hopes to continue his momentum in the rest of the hard court summer tournaments in North America, and also at the US Open, the biggest stage for any American player, and especially the current American #1. Harrison hasn’t been in great form lately but perhaps a second consecutive Atlanta final will help push him forward on the North American hard courts.

John Isner and Ryan Harrison Will Face Off in Second Straight ATP Atlanta Final
Steen Kirby, Tennis Atlantic

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John Isner will aim for a 5th Atlanta Open title when he faces off with Ryan Harrison, the opponent he defeated in the 2017 final. On semifinal Saturday in Atlanta both semifinals went the distance as Isner defeated Matt Ebden, and Harrison overcame Cam Norrie.

In the first singles match of the day it too Isner 2 hours to put away Ebden as the Australian put up a valiant fight. Isner won 6-4 6-7 6-1 firing 26 aces on a day where his inconsistency gave Ebden some openings but it still wasn’t enough for the underdog. In the opening set Ebden was broken in his second service game as Isner got off to a good start. Ebden generated one break point chance and could have gotten back on serve but Isner erased it and then served out two more service games to take a one set lead.

In the second set Ebden again went down an early break. Under significant pressure against the home favorite it looked as if he might throw in the towle, but instead Isner slipped and got broken to keep things on serve. Ebden held his nerve in every service game to force a tiebreak from there. In that tiebreak Isner surrendered a 3-1 minibreak lead to lose the tiebreak 8-6. Ebden saved a match point on his serve in the tiebreak.

The third set saw Isner shut the door though, Ebden’s resistance wilted after he was broken for 2-0 and then failed to take a break point chance to get things back on serve. Ebden was broken one more time and then Isner served his way into the final at 15.

In the night match Harrison struggled against Norrie at the start but recovered his form to win 2-6 6-3 6-2 in almost 2 hours. Harrison was steady on serve despite the poor start as Norrie’s game fell to pieces in sets 2 and 3. Harrison was erratic in the opener, he was broken in the opening game, then once more late in the set as Norrie had no comparable pressure on his own serve.

In the second set Norrie had a chance to go up a set and a break but Harrison wiped away two break point chances. He seized the momentum from there, breaking Norrie and then serving things out to force a third set. Norrie was broken twice in the final set, including in the opening game as the third was one way traffic.

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Harrison will also contest the doubles final. Along with his partner Rajeev Ram he’ll take on Nick Monroe and J.P. Smith in the final. Harrison/Ram defeated Raja/Skupski in straights while Monroe/Smith edged Arneodo/Chardy in a third set super tiebreak.

John Isner Reaches 9th Straight ATP Atlanta Semifinal
Steen Kirby, Tennis Atlantic

John Isner reached his 9th straight BB&T Atlanta Open semifinal, extending his streak of having never lost before the semifinals since the Atlanta Open began in 2010. Isner got past Mischa Zverev in the quarterfinals 7-5 4-6 6-1 in an hour and a half. The American #1 fired 21 aces and won all but two of his first serve points against the German veteran.

The opening set was a relatively swift one, Isner made a late push to break in the final game of the set, generating three break point chances and finally securing the set. Set 2 saw Zverev take advantage of his one and only opening in the match as he broke Isner for a 3-2 lead and was rock solid on serve to force a third set. Things went off the rails for Zverev though from there, Isner broke open a 5-0 lead and closed out the third set losing just three points on serve.

Isner is now slated to face Australia’s Matt Ebden in the semifinals. In the one routine match of the day Ebden took advantage of a discombobulated Marcos Baghdatis to ease into the semis 6-3 6-2. Baghdatis played a poor match similar to the ones that has characterized his late career decline. He won just 38% of his second serve points and generated just one break point chance that Ebden saved in the contest. Ebden broke for 2-0, and snuffed out a break point chance in the final game of the first set to take it 6-3. Baghdatis again surrendered an immediate break in the second set and under constant pressure from the clean hitting Ebden he was broken once more to allow Ebden an easy win.

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Ryan Harrison and Cam Norrie face off in the other semifinal. Norrie upset Nick Kyrgios as Kyrgios retired to a chorus of boos down 7-5 3-0 in nearly an hour. Kyrgios struggled throughout the match and played surprisingly passively throughout the contest, eventually giving up as he loomed doomed to defeat against the fast rising Norrie. Norrie was steady on serving erasing the three break point chances he faced as things slipped away from Kyrgios after he failed to break in a pair of games where he had an opportunity in the opening set. After being broken twice in the match (first at 5-6 and second at 0-1) he shook hands with the umpire and walked off the court.

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Ryan Harrison didn’t have it so easy against next gen star Hyeon Chung. Harrison dropped the first set 7-6 and had to comeback for a 6-7 6-2 7-6 victory in a match that was decided by the slightest of margins. Harrison kept hope alive of defending his finalist points from last year after a two and a half hour war where his superior serve made all the difference. Harrison wasn’t broken in the match, saving 5 chances that Chung generated, and he won 83% of his first sere points.

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Despite failing to break Harrison in the opening set Chung played a better tiebreak to get off to the best start. However Harrison instantly got himself back into the contest breaking Chung in the first game of set 2 and then taking another break to finish things 6-2. In the third set it looked like Chung would take the advantage as he had three break points in the 6th game, but Harrison won that long game and then almost broke Chung in the next one. Both players would serve their way into a tiebreak where minibreaks were the order of the day. Harrison took a 6-4 lead in the breaker and finally put things away 7-5 as Chung gave up the deciding point on his serve.

In doubles Arneodo/Chardy and Harrison/Ram advanced in straight sets as Bambridge/O’Mara and Bryan/Tiafoe went down in defeat.

Saturday features Isner vs. Ebden first up with Harrison vs. Norrie to follow. The doubles semifinals are Arneodo/Chardy vs Monroe/Smith and Raja/Skupski taking on Harrison/Ram. Isner and Harrison met in the final last year, while Ebden and Norrie are seeking the first ATP titles of their career. Ebden has one previous final on his resume, while Norrie has none.

Cam Norrie and Marcos Baghdatis Spring Upsets at BB&T Atlanta Open
Steen Kirby, Tennis Atlantic

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Four singles matches were completed on Thursday at the BB&T Atlanta Open as the quarterfinals were set for 2018. Cam Norrie sprung the upset of the day as the ATP #73 came back from a set down to upset the ATP #43 Jeremy Chardy 5-7 6-4 6-4 in a closely fought battle. Norrie was stronger on a serve in a match that featured few breaks. Chardy erased two break point chances early in the first then broke late to take a one set lead. Norrie finally broke Chardy in the second set then squared things up with a steady performance. In the third Chardy was broken right away and was unable to recover as the fast rising Brit showed the improvements in his game over the last few months.

Marcos Baghdatis has once again posted a good run of results in Atlanta. By a score of 7-5 6-1 Baghdatis crushed young gun American Frances Tiafoe who served up 9 double faults and had an awful serving day. Tiafoe got an early break in the first but things quickly unraveled for the young American. Baghdatis generated 13 break point chances and broke 5 times in the match.

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Australians Matt Ebden and Nick Kyrgios also reached the quarterfinals. Ebden was reliable under hot, fast conditions in the noon match as he defeated local favorite Donald Young 6-4 6-4. Ebden won all but 5 of his first serve points as he got late a break in the second set to close the match out and avoid having to spend more time on court than he had to.

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Kyrgios needed less than an hour to aggressively dismantle Noah Rubin 7-5 6-2. NK fired 15 aces and won over 80% of his points on serve as Rubin started well but quickly unraveled after surrendering a break in the last game of the first set. Kyrgios moved around the court with ease and was able to hit from attacking positions for most of the match.

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Raja/Skupski defeated Norrie and Taylor Fritz in the lone doubles match on the day.

The men’s quarterfinals in singles feature Ebden vs. Baghdatis, John Isner vs. Mischa Zverev, Norrie vs. Kyrgios, and Ryan Harrison vs. Hyeon Chung all taking place tomorrow.

The remaining doubles quarterfinals are Bryan/Tiafoe vs. Harrison/Ram and Arneodo/Chardy vs. Bambridge/O’Mara. Monroe/Smith and Raja/Skupski have already reached the semifinals.

Hyeon Chung Reaches Atlanta Quarterfinals in Return to Tour
Steen Kirby, Tennis Atlantic

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Korean star Hyeon Chung returned to the ATP tour with a second round victory at the BB&T Atlanta Open over Taylor Fritz 6-4 7-6. In a hard fought afternoon match the two next gen stars traded winners, with Chung overcoming 16 Fritz aces to win in straights.

The match opened with Fritz and Chung both saving break points before Fritz was broken at 30 in the 9th game of the match. Chung went on to hold his serve to take the set. In set 2 Chung broke right away and pressured Fritz in two more service games getting to 4-3 with relative ease. However Fritz turned things around yet again breaking a weary looking Chung to get things back on serve. From there it went to a tiebreak where from 5-5 Chung won the final two points to secure victory.

Joining Chung in the quarterfinals are John Isner, Ryan Harrison, and Mischa Zverev the singles winners on Wednesday.

Isner is looking to extend his semifinal streak in Atlanta and he moved a match closer with a 6-3 6-2 victory in just over an hour against Alex De Minaur. Showing no signs of fatigue from his run at Wimbledon Isner fired 15 aces and faced no break points, breaking De Minaur two times and avoiding even a tiebreak.

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Isner’s opponent in last year’s final Ryan Harrison got past Lukas Lacko 2-6 6-2 6-3. Harrison played a poor first set as Lacko got off to a hot start on the fast Atlanta stadium court. Harrison regained his composure though. From a set down he saved three break points on his serve at 2-2 in the second set and from there he turned the amtch around. He broke Lacko twice in the second then recovered from a break down in the third to save a break point and break twice then serve out the match.

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Mischa Zverev defeated a soon to be retired Mikhail Youzhny 6-4 6-2 in just over an hour. Youzhny didn’t move closer to 500 match wins as Zverev got the first break and three more over the course of two sets to win with relative ease.

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In doubles Arneodo/Chardy, Monroe/Smith, and Fritz/Norrie advanced, with Monroe and Smith into the semifinals.

Donald Young and Ryan Harrison Score Opening Match Wins in Atlanta
Steen Kirby, Tennis Atlantic

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The conclusion of the opening round of the main draw at the BB&T Atlanta Open 2018 saw five Americans advance into the round of 16, highlighted by local favorite Donald Young. Young recovered from a set down on Monday to win the second and third sets on Tuesday, saving a match point in the third, and also recovering from a break down in the third to prevail 2-6 7-6 7-6 against the veteran Croat. Karlovic’s normally steady serve failed him in the deciding set while Young was clutch to win just his second ATP match of the year.

Ryan Harrison also completed a comeback winning 4-6 7-6 6-1 over James Duckworth. With his wife cheering him on from the sidelines Harrison played a tough second set and a smooth third after struggling in the first, as Duckworth’s game melted in the heat. Taylor Fritz joins Harrison in the round of 16 after a routine 6-4 6-4 victory against Ramkumar Ramanathan. A tired Ramanathan generated no break point chances and struggled with his second serve.

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Noah Rubin and Frances Tiafoe were the other Americans to win in straights. Rubin 6-3 6-4 over Thanasi Kokkinakis and Tiafoe 6-4 6-4 over Marius Copil. Neither Copil nor Kokkinakis generated a break in the match, as Rubin saved all three break points he faced.

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In the other Tuesday singles matches, Cam Norrie ran away from a frustrated Malek Jaziri 7-5 6-0, Jeremy Chardy was too steady on serve against Ricardas Berankis winning 6-4 6-3. ATP veterans Marcos Baghdatis (6-4 6-1 against Alex Bolt), Mikhail Youzhny (6-2 6-0 against Emil Reinberg) and Mischa Zverev completed the R16 singles field. Zverev had match points in the second set tiebreak vs. Tim Smyczek but had to prevail in 3 sets 6-3 6-7 6-3 with his serve and volley game in a match that lasted over 2 and a half hours.

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In doubles Donald Young and Chris Eubanks advanced in a third set tiebreak while Tiafoe/Bryan won in straights.

Tomorrow in singles it will be defending champion John Isner against Alex De Minaur, Hyeon Chung returning from injury against Fritz, Harrison against Lukas Lacko and veterans Youzhny and Zverev squaring off.

Lacko and De Minaur Secure Second Round Berths @BBTAtlantaOpen

Posted by Admin on July 24, 2018

Posted in: Atlanta, ATP, BB&T Atlanta Open, Steen Kirby. Tagged: 2018 ATP Atlanta, 2018 BB&T Atlanta Open, Alex De Minaur, ATP Atlanta Day 3, atp. atlanta, BB&T Atlanta Open, Donald Young, Hubert Hurkacz, ivo karlovic, Lukas Lacko, Prajnesh Gunneswaran. Leave a comment

Lacko and De Minaur Secure Second Round Berths at BB&T Atlanta Open
Steen Kirby, Tennis Atlantic

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The night session was partially cancelled due to rain, but 2 (and a half) matches still completed on day 1 of the main draw at the BB&T Atlanta Open 2018.

For over 2 hours Alex De Minaur battled with lucky loser Hubert Hurkacz of Poland. Despite having played over the weekend in qualifying, Hurkacz came out as the fresher player roaring past De Minaur 6-1 in the first set. From there ADM steeled himself and stepped up in a big way though, battling past the Pole in consecutive tiebreaks to win the match 1-6 7-6 7-6, in the end coming back from a set and a break down to win.

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De Minaur was strong on second serve despite generating fewer chances on return, breaks were traded early in set 2 and Hurkacz saved a set point to force a tiebreak that De Minaur dominated to force a third. Hurkacz was pressed hard in the third set, nearly getting broken early, and getting broken to let the Australian young gun serve for the match. Hurkacz broke back to continue the action but a closer third set tiebreak saw De Minaur squeak it 7-5. Next for ADM is defending champion John Isner.

Lukas Lacko had a far easier time against qualifier Prajnesh Gunneswaran. The Slovak veteran enjoyed one way traffic in his first match of the tournament prevailing 6-2 6-2 in less than an hour. The errors started early and often off the Gunneswaran racquet as he went 4-0 down and never truly regained his foothold in the match.

In the third match of the day Ivo Karlovic was well on his way to (most likely) wrapping things up in straight sets against Donald Young until the rain came. Karlovic was up 6-2 5-5 as Young played a poor first set. DY recovered a bit in the second to keep things on an even keel, but Karlovic’s serve continued to trouble him. The match will conclude tomorrow.

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Tuesday’s singles action features a multitude of matches. Chardy vs. Berankis and Norrie vs. Jaziri start the day. The Ryan Harrison vs. James Duckworth contest that was scratched on Monday due to rain will follow along with Ramanathan vs. Fritz.

The Karlovic and Young match will conclude third on stadium, with Copil vs. Tiafoe, and Youhzny vs Reinberg the remaining singles matches on Stadium. On grandstand it will be Kokkinakis vs. Rubin and Smyczek vs. Zverev with Bolt vs. Baghdatis the late match. Two doubles matches will also take place tomorrow.

The doubles results today saw Bambridge/O’Mara, Raja/Skupski, and Monroe/Smith advance.

Former Champs John Isner and Nick Kyrgios The Top Seeds at ATP Atlanta 2018
Steen Kirby,Tennis Atlantic

The 2018 US Open Series kicks off in Atlanta as top caliber ATP Tennis returns stateside with the 250 stop in the tennis capital of the American South. Here is your full preview, with predictions.

Top Half:

John Isner is seeking a 5th Atlanta Open title, the defending champion is doing so from a career high #8 ranking. His first match should come against Alex De Minaur or lucky loser Hubert Hurkacz, both are promising players, but Isner’s serve on the Atlanta hard courts should be too much for them.

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Local favorite Emil Reinberg (University of Georgia), faces tour veteran Mikhail Youzhny in the opening round. Newport semifinalist Tim Smyczek drew Nottingham champion Mischa Zverev with Zverev most likely to go through to face Isner in the quarters, with Isner a heavy favorite.

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American young gun Frances Tiafoe will begin against Marius Copil, with Alex Bolt or Marcos Baghdatis waiting on deck. Tiafoe has had the best season of his career already and should ease past Copil and Bolt to reach the quarters.

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Now 30, Matt Ebden has gotten himself to the point he’s now a top 4 seed in an ATP tournament. Ebden will have a tough test against either big serving Ivo Karlovic or a struggling Donald Young in round 2. Karlovic is in the twilight of his career and hasn’t had a good season, so Ebden should be a slight favorite in his section with Tiafoe winning their quarterfinal to reach the semis.

Bottom Half:

Nick Kyrgios won the 2016 title in Atlanta, to reach that stage again he’ll likely have to get past his friend and countryman Thanasi Kokkinakis, presuming Kokkinakis defeats fellow qualifier Noah Rubin in round 1. Kyrgios when healthy is hard to stop so he should get past Kokkinakis and also Jeremy Chardy (or Cam Norrie) in the quarters. Chardy opens with Ricardas Berankis, while Norrie drew a struggling Malek Jaziri.

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A finalist last year, Ryan Harrison faces James Duckworth in his opening match this year in dire need of a form boost. Harrison should beat Duckworth but Lukas Lacko presents a tougher challenge. Lacko draws Prajnesh Gunneswaran in round 1. I have Harrison going through to the quarters against Hyeon Chung.

Chung, when fit, has already shown what a dangerous player he can be. The Korean #1 faces Taylor Fritz or Ramkumar Ramanathan in round 2. Fritz should beat a tired Ramanthan but Chung will be favored to reach the semis.

Predictions

Semis
Isner d. Tiafoe
Kyrgios d. Chung

Isner will be a heavy favorite to retain his Atlanta title after the great run at Wimbledon, while Kyrgios, Tiafoe, and Chung look to steel themselves for a good hard court summer in North America.

Final
Isner d. Kyrgios

Kokkinakis, Bolt, Rubin, and Gunneswaran Secure BB&T Atlanta Open Main Draw Spots
Steen Kirby, Tennis Atlantic

BB&T Atlanta Open Qualifying for 2018 concluded on Sunday with the four qualifiers set. Two of them are Australian as Thanasi Kokkinakis defeated Hubert Hurkacz 6-2 7-6 in just over an hour and a half, and Alex Bolt defeated Denis Kudla in the last match of the day 6-7 6-3 6-3 in 2 hours.

Kokkinakis got off to a great start with an immediate break, and for his part wasn’t broken in the match despite a few spare chances for Hurkacz of Poland. The second set was much closer but from 6-6 Kokkinakis won two consecutive points to secure his qualification. Hurkacz would go on to make the main draw as a lucky loser.

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Bolt dropped the opening set despite breaking back after going down a break. He played a poor tiebreak to hand Kudla a one set lead. Kudla couldn’t maintain his advantage though, he was broken in the opening game of set 2 and then once more in the final game of the second set, all while failing to pressure Bolt in the Australian’s service game. That theme continued in the third set, Kudla offered little on return and despite saving an early break point on his serve, he was broken to go 4-2 down in the third, and eventually lost the match.

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The remaining qualifiers were American Noah Rubin and India’s Prajnesh Gunneswaran. Gunneswaran made his ATP main draw debut in Stuttgart just a few weeks back, and now he’s into his second ATP main draw at the age of 28. He also won his first challenger title this year, and perhaps next will make his main draw debut in a Grand Slam. Gunneswaran eased past Tommy Paul 6-3 6-3 in just over an hour, he wasn’t broken in the match.

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Rubin eased past a previously in-form Jason Jung 6-4 6-2 in a match that was also just past an hour. Rubin did not face a break point and had relatively smooth sailing to reach his third ATP main draw this year.

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The placement of the qualifiers into the main draw is as follows:

Hurkacz(LL) vs. Alex De Minaur

Bolt vs. Marcos Baghdatis

Gunneswaran vs. Lukas Lacko

Kokkinakis vs. Rubin in a qualifier vs qualifier matchup.