BB&T Atlanta Open Predictions

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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

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

2016 ATP Atlanta Preview and Predictions
Steen Kirby, Tennis Atlantic

The only ATP tournament this week is the final stop before Rio, the 2016 BB&T Atlanta Open. Tennis Atlantic will have live coverage all week once again this year.

BB&T Atlanta Open
ATP World Tour 250
Atlanta, GA, USA
August 1-7, 2016
Prize Money: $618,030
Surface: Hard

Top 4 seeds (Who all receive first round byes) (ATP ranking in parentheses)
1: John Isner (16)
2: Nick Kyrgios (19)
3: Kevin Anderson (34)
4: Alexandr Dolgopolov (38)

A pair of top 20 players highlight the field in Atlanta, and rankings drop much lower from there.

First round matchups to watch:

(Q)Chris Eubanks vs. (WC)Reilly Opelka

Both these young Americans have promise, and Eubanks will have home support and momentum after qualifying. Still, the tall Opelka is continuing to develop nicely and looks to have a future perhaps on par with top seed John Isner, who shares the big frame of Opelka.

Sergiy Stakhovsky vs. Ivan Dodig

Stako has a h2h win over Dodig, who has lost four straight matches and is in terrible form. Stakhovsky has just two hard court wins this year at the ATP level, but Dodig has the same poor record, and thus Stako should have an edge in this match between serve and volleyers.

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Sam Groth vs. (WC)Jared Donaldson

Groth has two wins against Donaldson, but he’s had an awful season and has lost three straight matches. The massive server has done little to develop the rest of his game, and has just two hard court wins at the ATP level this year. Donaldson qualified in both Washington and Toronto, and he’s six of his last eight matches, including a round of 16 result in Toronto. With Donaldson playing this well, it’s time he got his first win against Groth and continued his strong run of recent results.

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Top Half:

Three-time defending champion John Isner is one of the favorites to take home a record fourth title in Atlanta. The American #1 will open with either Adrian Mannarino or qualifier Mischa Zverev as he looks to improve on his pedestrian play as of late. Isner is just 9-6 on hard courts this year, a poor record for him, but Mannarino isn’t in great form, and thus Isner should advance to the quarters like he did in Washington.

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Memphis finalist Taylor Fritz hasn’t been playing well lately and has just two ATP wins since the end of the clay court season. Regardless, he’ll be the favorite against UGA’s top player Austin Smith, a wild card making his ATP debut, and he also should defeat either Bjorn Fratangelo, or Igor Sijsling, both of whom are challenger level players. Isner over Fritz is a safe pick in the quarters given Fritz struggles with consistently big servers like Isner.

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Kevin Anderson has had a poor season, but he played surprisingly well in Toronto, reaching the quarterfinals, and should be able to continue that positive momentum if he can stay healthy. Anderson should get young gun winner of Eubanks/Opelka, then defeat Donald Young/Austin Krajicek or Tim Smyczek/Thiago Monteiro, probably Young, to reach the semifinals. Smyczek qualified in Toronto, and has an outside shot at the quarters. Young rarely plays well at home in Atlanta, but he’s been in decent form recently, and Krajicek came through qualifying.

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Bottom Half:

Nick Kyrgios is playing just his third ATP 250 of the season, and making his debut in Atlanta. The young Aussie is 26-11 on the year, but he comes off an abysmal loss to teenager Denis Shapovalov in Toronto where he showed a complete lack of effort, and was poor on serve. If Kyrgios plays up to the level he’s capable of, he should cruise past Donaldson or Groth, and then most likely Fernando Verdasco in the quarterfinals, but he could be headed for another early exit if his head isn’t in the right place.

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Verdasco is playing for the first time since Wimbledon and he wasn’t in great form the last time he played. Still he’s 18-14 on the season and his experience and ability outweights Serbian Dusan Lajovic, who is poor on hard courts, and his round 2 opponent, either Julien Benneteau, or qualifier J.P. Smith. Benneteau has been terrible this year as the French veteran has struggled to return from injury. Kyrgios should be able to power past Verdasco given a previous h2h win last year on hard courts.

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Alexandr Dolgopolov will have to deal with hot conditions, and he’s won just one of his last three matches, but the inconsistent shotmaker is still the favorite to reach the quarterfinals out of his section. Dan Evans showed promise at Wimbledon and Washington, but he comes off a challenger match loss, and faces off with Japanese speed demon Yoshihito Nishioka in the first round. Nishioka could knock off Evans, as he showed good form in recent challengers. Evans is a bit of a dark horse, but Dolgopolov over Evans is my bracket pick.

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Guillermo Garcia-Lopez hasn’t had a great season, but Horacio Zeballos is a dirtballer who doesn’t play well on hard courts, and his round 2 opponent would be either Stakhovsky or Dodig, both of whom have been awful this season. Although Stakhovsky is another possible dark horse, Garcia-Lopez should reach the quarterfinals, before most likely falling to Dolgopolov’s shotmaking. He’s 3-1 against Dolgo, but those wins did not come on hard courts, Dolgopolov’s best surface.

Dark Horse: Dan Evans

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Evans showed tremendous promise in a comprehensive upset of Grigor Dimitrov in Washington. With an open field, and an open section of the draw, a big win over Dolgopolov would give Evans a shot to go as far as the semifinals without facing either of the top two seeds who are the real threats this tournament.

Predictions

Semis
Isner d. Anderson
Kyrgios d. Dolgopolov

Isner hasn’t been playing well, but he always gets rejuvenated playing in front of friends and family in Atlanta, along with the raucous crowd. Anderson could knock him off given his recent form, but I can’t expect it. Kyrgios is a strong favorite to make the final if he doesn’t lose his focus.

Final
Isner d. Kyrgios

It’s hard to pick against Isner in Atlanta if he’s healthy. Isner having a h2h win last year on hard court also works in his favor.

2015 ATP Draw Challenge Week 28 (Hamburg, Gstaad, Atlanta)
Staff, Tennis Atlantic

Two clay court tournaments, a 500 in Hamburg, and a 250 in Gstaad, take place this week and then there is the hard court 250 in Atlanta that kicks off the Emirates Airlines US Open Series.

Hamburg

2015 Bet-at-home Open Predictions

Steen Kirby’s picks

Round 2 matches: Nadal vs. Vesely, Janowicz vs. Cuevas, Klizan vs. Montanes, Bolelli vs. Garcia-Lopez, Fognini vs. Ramos, Bedene vs. Bautista Agut, Monaco vs. Pouille, Kohlschreiber vs. Robredo
Quarterfinals: Nadal vs. Cuevas, Klizan vs. Garcia-Lopez, Fognini vs. Bautista Agut, Monaco vs. Kohlschreiber
Semifinals: Nadal vs. Klizan, Bautista Agut vs. Kohlschreiber
Final: Nadal vs. Bautista Agut
Champion: Nadal

Niall Clarke’s picks

Round 2 matches: Nadal vs. Haider-Maurer, Janowicz vs. Cuevas, Klizan vs. Montanes, Bolelli vs. Garcia-Lopez, Fognini vs. Almagro, Bedene vs. Bautista Agut, Monaco vs. Pouille, Kohlschreiber vs. Robredo
Quarterfinals: Nadal vs. Cuevas, Klizan vs. Garcia-Lopez, Almagro vs. Bautista Agut, Monaco vs. Kohlschreiber
Semifinals: Nadal vs. Klizan, Bautista Agut vs. Kohlschreiber
Final: Nadal vs. Kohlschreiber
Champion: Nadal

Chris de Waard’s picks

Round 2 matches: Nadal vs. Haider-Maurer, Danil vs. Cuevas, Klizan vs. Mayer, Bolelli vs. Garcia-Lopez, Fognini vs. Almagro, Bedene vs. Bautista Agut, Gulbis vs. Cervantes, Kohlschreiber vs. Robredo
Quarterfinals: Nadal vs. Cuevas, Klizan vs. Bolelli, Fognini vs. Bautista Agut, Gulbis vs. Robredo
Semifinals: Nadal vs. Bolelli, Fognini vs. Robredo
Final: Nadal vs. Fognini
Champion: Fognini

Jeff McMillan’s picks

Round 2 matches: Nadal vs. Vesely, Janowicz vs. Cuevas, Seppi vs. Mayer, Bolelli vs. Garcia-Lopez, Fognini vs. Ramos, Gimeno-Traver vs. Coric, Monaco vs. Pouille, Kohlschreiber vs. Robredo
Quarterfinals: Nadal vs. Cuevas, Seppi vs. Bolelli, Fognini vs. Coric, Monaco vs. Robredo
Semifinals: Nadal vs. Bolelli, Fognini vs. Robredo
Final: Nadal vs. Fognini
Champion: Nadal

Rafael Nadal is the favorite in Hamburg

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Gstaad

2015 Swiss Open Gstaad Predictions

Steen Kirby’s picks

Round 2 matches: Goffin vs. Rublev, Istomin vs. Sousa, Andujar vs. Lajovic, Souza vs. Bellucci, Carreno Busta vs. Haase, Delbonis vs. Thiem, Giraldo vs. Kuznetsov, Reister vs. Lopez
Quarterfinals: Goffin vs. Sousa, Andujar vs. Bellucci, Carreno Busta vs. Thiem, Giraldo vs. Lopez
Semifinals: Goffin vs. Bellucci, Carreno Busta vs. Lopez
Final: Bellucci vs. Lopez
Champion: Bellucci

Niall Clarke’s picks

Round 2 matches: Goffin vs. Rublev, Istomin vs. Sousa, Andujar vs. Lajovic, Souza vs. Bellucci, Carreno Busta vs. Granollers, Delbonis vs. Thiem, Giraldo vs. Kuznetsov, Kavcic vs. Lopez
Quarterfinals: Goffin vs. Sousa, Andujar vs. Bellucci, Carreno Busta vs. Thiem, Giraldo vs. Lopez
Semifinals: Sousa vs. Bellucci, Thiem vs. Giraldo
Final: Bellucci vs. Giraldo
Champion: Giraldo

Joe Craven’s picks

Round 2 matches: Goffin vs. Rublev, Istomin vs. Sousa, Andujar vs. Lajovic, Souza vs. Bellucci, Carreno Busta vs. Haase, Delbonis vs. Thiem, Giraldo vs. Kuznetsov, Reister vs. Lopez
Quarterfinals: Rublev vs. Sousa, Andujar vs. Bellucci, Carreno Busta vs. Delbonis, Giraldo vs. Lopez
Semifinals: Rublev vs. Bellucci, Carreno Busta vs. Giraldo
Final: Bellucci vs. Giraldo
Champion: Giraldo

Chris de Waard’s picks

Round 2 matches: Goffin vs. Rublev, Istomin vs. Sousa, Andujar vs. Lajovic, Robert vs. Bellucci, Carreno Busta vs. Haase, Delbonis vs. Thiem, Giraldo vs. Ilhan, Reister vs. Lopez
Quarterfinals: Rublev vs. Sousa, Andujar vs. Bellucci, Carreno Busta vs. Thiem, Giraldo vs. Lopez
Semifinals: Sousa vs. Andujar, Thiem vs. Giraldo
Final: Andujar vs. Thiem
Champion: Thiem

Jeff McMillan’s picks

Round 2 matches: Goffin vs. Rublev, Istomin vs. Sousa, Andujar vs. Lajovic, Souza vs. Bellucci, Carreno Busta vs. Haase, Delbonis vs. Thiem, Giraldo vs. Ilhan, Kavcic vs. Lopez
Quarterfinals: Goffin vs. Istomin, Andujar vs. Bellucci, Haase vs. Thiem, Giraldo vs. Lopez
Semifinals: Goffin vs. Bellucci, Thiem vs. Giraldo
Final: Goffin vs. Thiem
Champion: Goffin

A mixed group of possible champions in Gstaad

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Atlanta

2015 BB&T Atlanta Open Predictions

Steen Kirby’s picks

Round 2 matches: Isner vs. Stepanek, Berankis vs. Johnson, Sock vs. Kudla, Sela vs. Berrer, Muller vs. Donaldson, Dolgopolov vs. Mannarino, Baghdatis vs. Groth, Lu vs. Pospisil
Quarterfinals: Isner vs. Johnson, Sock vs. Berrer, Muller vs. Dolgopolov, Groth vs. Pospisil
Semifinals: Isner vs. Sock, Muller vs. Pospisil
Final: Isner vs. Muller
Champion: Isner

Niall Clarke’s picks

Round 2 matches: Isner vs. Stepanek, Smyczek vs. Johnson, Sock vs. Harrison, Fish vs. Becker, Muller vs. Donaldson, Dolgopolov vs. Mannarino, Baghdatis vs. Groth, Lu vs. Pospisil
Quarterfinals: Isner vs. Johnson, Sock vs. Becker, Muller vs. Dolgopolov, Groth vs. Pospisil
Semifinals: Isner vs. Sock, Muller vs. Pospisil
Final: Sock vs. Pospisil
Champion: Sock

Joe Craven’s picks

Round 2 matches: Isner vs. Stepanek, Smyczek vs. Johnson, Sock vs. Harrison, Fish vs. Berrer, Young vs. Devvarman, Dolgopolov vs. Mannarino, Baghdatis vs. Groth, Lu vs. Pospisil
Quarterfinals: Isner vs. Johnson, Sock vs. Berrer, Young vs. Dolgopolov, Groth vs. Pospisil
Semifinals: Isner vs. Sock, Dolgopolov vs. Groth
Final: Sock vs. Dolgopolov
Champion: Sock

Chris de Waard’s picks

Round 2 matches: Isner vs. Stepanek, Smyczek vs. Johnson, Sock vs. Kudla, Sela vs. Becker, Muller vs. Donaldson, Dolgopolov vs. Mannarino, Baghdatis vs. Groth, Lu vs. Pospisil
Quarterfinals: Stepanek vs. Johnson, Sock vs. Becker, Muller vs. Dolgopolov, Groth vs. Pospisil
Semifinals: Johnson vs. Sock, Dolgopolov vs. Pospisil
Final: Sock vs. Dolgopolov
Champion: Sock

Jeff McMillan’s picks

Round 2 matches: Isner vs. Stepanek, Smyczek vs. Johnson, Sock vs. Kudla, Sela vs. Becker, Young vs. Devvarman, Dolgopolov vs. Mannarino, Baghdatis vs. Groth, Lu vs. Pospisil
Quarterfinals: Isner vs. Johnson, Sock vs. Becker, Young vs. Dolgopolov, Groth vs. Pospisil
Semifinals: Isner vs. Sock, Dolgopolov vs. Groth
Final: Isner vs. Dolgopolov
Champion: Isner

Jack Sock and John Isner are expected to compete for the title in Atlanta

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Week 27 standings

Umag
1: Steen (58 points) (+250 overall)
2: Chris (54 points) (+150 overall)
3: Niall (54 points) (+150 overall)
4: Joe (0 points) (+0 overall)
5: Jeff (0 points) (+0 overall)

Bastad
1: Chris (68 points) (+250 overall)
2: Joe (42 points) (+150 overall)
3: Niall (42 points) (+150 overall)
4: Steen (28 points) (+90 overall)
5: Jeff (0 points) (+0 overall)

Bogota
1: Chris (48 points) (+250 overall)
2: Steen (44 points) (+150 overall)
3: Niall (30 points) (+90 overall)
4: Joe (0 points) (+0 overall)
5: Jeff (0 points) (+0 overall)

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Overall standings (after week 26)

1: Steen: 12,440 ranking points (+490 points overall)
2: Niall: 11,140 points (+390 points overall)
3: Joe 10,640 points (+150 points overall)
4: Chris: 9,245 points (+650 points overall)
5: Jeff: 8,590 points (+0 points overall)

Kudos to Chris who had a strong week and gained the most points, otherwise Niall and Steen increased their grip on first and second by a few points.

ATP Draw Challenge (London Queens)