Ryan Harrison Atlanta

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

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.

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.

Isner and Harrison Setup All-American BB&T Atlanta Open Final
Steen Kirby, Tennis Atlantic

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John Isner is one match away from winning his second tournament in as many weeks, as he dominated Gilles Muller 6-4 6-2 in the first of two BB&T Atlanta Open singles semifinals for 2017. Muller was poor on return and Isner was much improved from the quarterfinals. Isner fired 15 aces, Muller posted just 8, and was broken three times, while Isner saved all four break points he faced. Muller hadn’t been broken all week but after he didn’t break early on, he was broken in the first set, and then twice more in the second set to hand Isner the match. Both players are typically strong servers, but this match did produce chances on return, chances that only Isner aggressively pounced on.

It was a much closer match on Saturday night as Ryan Harrison edged Kyle Edmund 6-7 6-3 6-4 in two hours. Their groundstroke centric semifinal produced one of the matches of the tournament, as Harrison’s edge on first serve points (winning 84%) was the key advantage. Harrison only faced three break points in the match, and was only broken once, Edmund was broken three times. The British player snatched the first set from a break down, taking a tiebreak that saw five mini breaks in total, three of them going in favor of Edmund. Harrison kept his head up in set 2, breaking early on after saving a break point in the opening game of the set. It was one way traffic in set 2 from 3-1, as Edmund was taken into a third set. In the third set Edmund was under pressure throughout, he faced three break points at 1-1, saving them all, but finally buckled to lose his service game at 4-4. Harrison would then serve the match out, continuing his good form on hard courts this year, and his renewed focus.

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In the final Harrison will be facing Isner for the seventh time in their careers. Harrison won their last meeting in 2016 at the Rogers Cup, that was a close three setter. Isner leads the h2h 5-2, but Harrison leads 2-1 on hard courts, which should give him plenty of confidence. Isner has won seven matches in a row, and fourteen straight sets. He’s 3-3 in his career in Atlanta finals, and is seeking his fourth title in one of his two “home” tournaments in the USA. Harrison is playing in just his second career ATP final, he the title in Memphis final year as an ATP tournament earlier this season. Unless Harrison serves lights out, Isner should be the favorite in the final, whether it gets to a tiebreak or not.

The Bryan Brothers will face Koolhof/Sitak in the doubles final, after Koolhof/Sitak beat Raja/Sharan and the Bryans beat Millman/Ratiwatana. Both matches were completed in straight sets. The Bryans will be heavy favorites in the doubles final, even though their form has declined with age.

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