Thanasi Kokkinakis

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.

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Tommy Paul and Jason Jung Advance at BB&T Atlanta Open Qualifying
Steen Kirby, Tennis Atlantic

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Day 1 of the 2018 BB&T Atlanta Open saw the first round of qualifying complete. Bernard Tomic suffered a surprise defeat against Tommy Paul, Paul prevailed 6-3 4-6 6-3 in just over an hour and a half. Paul broke Tomic twice in the opening set and despite recovering to take the second with an early break, he fell under relentless pressure by Paul in the final set, as Paul broke for 5-3 and took the match after saving a break point in the next service game.

Prajnesh Gunneswaran will be Paul’s opponent in the final round of qualifying. Gunneswaran got bageled in the opening set but it was smooth sailing in sets 2 and 3 against Mohamed Safwat for a 0-6 6-3 6-1 result.

Local favorites Chris Eubanks, Garrett Johns, and Kiranpal Pannu all fell in straight sets. Jason Jung continued his great form with a 6-4 6-3 win against Eubanks, Jung wasn’t broken in the match saving the break points he faced, while Eubanks was broken late in the first and twice in the second set.

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Thanasi Kokkinakis was one of two Australian players to advance on the day as he defeated Pannu 6-3 6-4. While Alex Bolt was the other, defeating Johns 6-1 6-4. Johns worked himself into the match but it wasn’t enough to extend play beyond the second set.

J.P. Smith wasn’t so lucky, Smith fell to Denis Kudla in a battle that Kudla won 3-6 7-6 6-3, each set had a myriad of break point opportunities, and a late break in the third got Kudla the win. Noah Rubin saved all the break points he faced to defeat Evan King 6-4 6-4.

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Hubert Hurkacz drubbed Ilya Marchenko 6-1 6-1 and draws Kokkinakis in the final round of qualifying. The other pair of final round qualifying matches are Jung vs. Rubin and Kudla vs. Bolt.

After tomorrow the qualifiers will be placed into the newly announced main draw. Jack Sock withdrew from draw after sustaining an injury in practice. John Isner, Nick Kyrgios, Hyeon Chung, and Matt Ebden take the top 4 seeded spots and get byes into the second round. The doubles draw was also announced with star pairings including Mike Bryan and Frances Tiafoe, and Kyrgios/Kokkinakis.

Australians Bernard Tomic and Thanasi Kokkinakis Seek BB&T Atlanta Open Main Draw Berths
Steen Kirby, Tennis Atlantic

The four qualifying slots will be filled upon the conclusion of the main draw qualifying tournament this weekend at the 2018 BB&T Atlanta Open. Here is your look at the qualifying action.

The top seed in qualifying is Denis Kudla, Kudla had a relatively good grass court season and enters qualifying after losing his second match in Newport. His first round opponent, journeyman J.P. Smith, qualified for Wimbledon but overall has struggled to make a mark this season. Kudla has a good h2h and should be favored.

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Top high school recruit Garrett Johns, a Duke commit, faces off with one of the many Australians in this draw, Alex Bolt. Bolt’s experience should give him an edge. Kudla should be favored to advance from this section.

Columbus State college player Kiranpal Pannu, who won the wild card challenge, will open with Thanasi Kokkinakis. The ATP Next Gen star returned from injury this year. Other than a round of 32 result in Miami he’s struggled to cement himself back on the main tour, but he should be favored in this match.

Hubert Hurkacz qualified for Wimbledon and is another next-gen player looking to find some main tour success. The young Pole faces formerly top 50 Ilya Marchenko, who is returning to tour after a few months off, having lost 5 straight matches in 2018. Hurkacz should be favored in round 1, but his match with Kokkinakis looks like a toss-up.

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Jason Jung is at a career high ranking (131) and he’s been in fantastic form lately, reaching a challenger final and the quarters in Newport. Jung should be favored against the steadily improving local favorite Chris Eubanks who reached the top 200 this season.

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Noah Rubin has won a pair of challenger titles this year, he’ll face a struggling Evan King in the opening round, either Rubin or Jung should qualify from this section.

Bernard Tomic returned to tour in May after limited action between the Australian Open and that point. Tomic has been playing relatively well and should be favored against a less accomplished Tommy Paul, who currently sits outside the top 200.

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French Open qualifier Mohamed Safwat should be favored against Prajnesh Gunneswaran in the opening round. Safwat is the top ranked Egyptian player and reached a career high rank of 163 this season. Tomic will be the favorite from this section.

Big Serving Veteran John Isner Takes Maiden ATP 1000 Title in Miami
Steen Kirby, Tennis Atlantic

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32 year old John Isner had struggled his way through 2018 with just one match win, but in Miami he turned it on, winning six straight to capture the biggest ATP title of his career. A long time battler on the ATP Tour, Isner will return to the top 10 after dispatching Alexander Zverev 6-7 6-4 6-4 in the final, preventing Zverev from taking a third career Masters title.

Isner heated up with early wins against Jiri Vesely, and Mikhail Youzhny, then upset Marin Cilic, Hyeon Chung, and Juan Martin Del Potro in consecutive matches to reach the final. His last three wins prior to the final dominant performances. Zverev ran through a tough road of Daniil Medvedev, David Ferrer, Nick Kyrgios, Borna Coric, and Pablo Carreno Busta, posting a solid week despite a tough finals loss.

With the ATP season switching to clay, Zverev should have more success ahead, while Isner is unlikely to make much of a dent in big events until the hard court Summer, but he’ll still have the memory of the biggest result in his career coming in 2018.

Top seed Roger Federer was upset by Thanasi Kokkinakis early on, as Kokkinakis played up to his potential and got past a fatigued Federer in three sets, never backing down.

The Bryan brothers took the doubles title defeating Russia’s Karen Khachanov and Andrey Rublev in the doubles final for their 37th Masters 1000 title.

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Kohlschreiber Caps Off Clay Season With Kitzbuhel Title, Querrey Doubles Up in Mexico
Steen Kirby, Tennis Atlantic

ATP Kitzbuhel

Philipp Kohlschreiber won ATP title #8, and Kitzbuhel title #2 6-3 6-4 over Joao Sousa in the final. The veteran German dropped sets against Facundo Bagnis and Dusan Lajovic, scraping past Lajovic in a third set tiebreak. He defeated Jiri Vesely and semifinalist Fabio Fognini in straights though to finish the season 12-6 on clay, and hoping for a bit more on summer hard courts coming up.

Sousa continues his reputation as a streaky player, he’s lost two 250 level finals this season, but had a remarkable week just to reach the final. He was on the ropes in every match, as he dropped the first set against Mikhail Youzhny, Paolo Lorenzi, and Gerald Melzer before narrowly defeating Sebastian Ofner in straight sets. Ofner is a rising player and should be on the ATP level soon given his ability.

Pablo Cuevas and Guillermo Duran saved a match point to defeat Hans Podlipnik-Castillo and Andrei Vasilevski in the doubles final.

ATP Los Cabos

It was another special week down in Mexico for Sam Querrey, as he took both of the ATP titles on offer in the country this season. Querrey served past Thanasi Kokkinakis 6-3 3-6 6-2. The result puts Querrey on the edge of reaching his wins title from last season with months to go on in the season. Querrey beat Evan King, Vincent Millot, and Damir Dzumhur as well this week, coming from a set down against Dzumhur, and beating King in three sets. Kokkinakis looked great finally after a long time off of the tour with injury. The talented young Aussie beat Frances Tiafoe, Peter Polansky, Taylor Fritz, and Tomas Berdych, his wins over Polansky and Berdych coming from a set down, as he showed a ton of heart and fight on the week.

In the doubles Juan Sebastian Cabal and Treat Huey beat Sergio Galdos and Roberto Maytin,

.@TKokkinakis, @Louisa_Chirico Headline @CitiOpen Qualies

Posted by Admin on July 1, 2016

Posted in: ATP, Citi Open, Washington, WTA. Tagged: 2016, atp, Citi Open, dc, Jared Donaldson, Louisa Chirico, qualifying, Samantha Crawford, Thanasi Kokkinakis, washington, wta, Yoshihito Nishioka, Yuichi Sugita. Leave a comment

KOKKINAKIS, CHIRICO HEADLINE @CITIOPEN QUALIFYING FIELDS
Americans and Japanese players lead early rosters; Matches begin July 16 at 10 a.m.

Louisa Chirico

WASHINGTON (July 1, 2016) — The Citi Open^® Tennis Tournament announces its exciting fields of players competing in the qualifying rounds for a coveted spot in the main draw. Qualifying rounds will be held July 16-17 at the Rock Creek Park Tennis Center.

For a list of qualifying players, go to www.citiopentennis.com, under the Players tab. Players are subject to change due to injury or other unforeseen circumstances. Tickets start at just $10 – a deal for the whole family.

Kokkinakis (photo credit Ahmet Fevzi Guclu)

Australian Thanasi Kokkinakis, who achieved a career-high ranking of No. 69 in 2015, will receive a wild card into the qualifying rounds. Another wild card confirmed for the early rounds is American Ulises Blanch. He joins other young players identified as ATP’s Next Gen in the early rounds — American Jared Donaldson and Japan’s Yoshihito Nishioka. The men’s field includes seven Americans and three Japanese players, including current top seed Yuichi Sugita.

Jared Donaldson

American Louisa Chirico, who reached the quarterfinals at last year’s Citi Open and the semifinals in Madrid, is the current top seed in the women’s field. Another promising American player, Samantha Crawford, will also compete as she nears the top 100 in the WTA Tour. Four Americans and three Japanese players are included in this year’s field.

—S. Pegarido, Citi Open

Johnson

Marcos Baghdatis, Thanasi Kokkinakis, Ivo Karlovic, Steve Johnson, and Defending Champion Rajeev Ram to compete in Hall of Fame Tennis Championships

NEWPORT, R.I., May 27, 2016 – When the ATP World Tour comes to Newport, R.I. in July for the first stop of the summer season in the United States, the player field will feature a Grand Slam tournament finalist, several players ranked among the world top-50, a group of the world’s brightest young stars, and Newport fan favorites who have seen success on the International Tennis Hall of Fame grass courts previously.

Marcos Baghdatis, a dynamic player from Cyprus who has been ranked as high as world No. 8 and was runner up at the 2006 Australian Open, is set to make his first appearance in Newport. Australia’s Thanasi Kokkinakis has recently committed to Newport, joining a previously announced group of rising stars in the player field, including Americans Taylor Fritz and Jared Donaldson. The third-highest ranked American Steve Johnson will make his third appearance in Newport, where he was a quarterfinalist in 2014. Defending champion Rajeev Ram will return to Newport, along with last year’s runner up Ivo Karlovic, a big serving pro who is currently ranked world No. 28.

Additional players for the Hall of Fame Tennis Championships are still to be named. The tournament will be played July 10 – 17. Tickets are available now on HallofFameTennisChampionships.com.

“There is a lot of variety in the player field for this year’s tournament,” commented Tournament Director and Hall of Fame CEO Todd Martin. “I think it will be a great experience for fans to see some amazing young talent competing against some of the tour’s more prolific veteran players like Marcos Baghdatis and Ivo Karlovic.”

Donaldson

He continued, “Also, we’re really working to build an enhanced fan experience in Newport this summer, and that combined with this player field will offer a fantastic week of tennis.”

Fans will enjoy several new amenities at this year’s tournament, notably an entirely new South Grandstand, featuring individual flip down seating rather than the previously used benches. The viewing experience of the tournament will also be significantly enhanced with the addition of videoboards in the stadium and Hawk-Eye replay – an electronic line calling system. Additionally, as a result of the Hall of Fame’s recent expansion and renovation projects, the tournament now has more space to work with and will offer an expanded fan zone featuring a tennis demo court and new on-site dining options.

Special events top off the ATP action, including tennis clinics for both juniors and adults throughout the week, Alex and Ani Ladies Day on Thursday, July 14, and a new event – PowerShares Legends Newport on Sunday, July 17. PowerShares Legends Newport offers a unique opportunity to see tennis legends back in action in a special one-day tournament. The field will feature Andy Roddick, James Blake, Marat Safin, and a fourth player to be named. It’s a particularly special weekend for Safin to compete, as the two-time Grand Slam tournament champion will be inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame on the day prior.

Tickets for the Hall of Fame Tennis Championships, as well as the PowerShares event and the Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony are on sale now on www.HallofFameTennisChampionships.com.

ABOUT THE PLAYERS

Baghdatis

Marcos Baghdatis of Cyprus is currently ranked world No. 39 in the Emirates ATP Rankings. Always an exciting player to watch, Baghdatis has been a staple of the ATP World Tour since the early 2000s and he has been ranked within the top-100 in the year-end rankings for 11 straight years. Baghdatis has had some big wins this season, most notably at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships, where he was a finalist. In 2006, Baghdatis was the runner up at the Australian Open. That same season, he reached a career high of world No. 8 and won his first career title with a victory at the China Open. Baghdatis is one of the most successful Davis Cup players of all time, and he has been a dedicated Cyprus Davis Cup team member since he made his debut in 2000 as a 14-year-old. Earlier this year, he won his 36th straight Davis Cup match, surpassing the record for longest singles winning streak, which was previously held by Bjorn Borg at 33 matches.

Rajeev Ram returns to Newport as defending champion, having defeated Ivo Karlovic in a close final last year, 7-6(7), 5-7, 7-6(2). It was Ram’s second career title, as he also won the Newport title in 2009. Ram also won the Newport doubles title that year (w/ Jordan Kerr) – one of his eight career doubles titles. Ram is currently ranked world No. 70, and he has been ranked as high as world No. 56, which he achieved in April of this season. In February of this season, Ram was the runner up at the Delray Beach Open.

Newport fan favorite Ivo Karlovic returns for a sixth appearance at the event, where he has seen great success in recent years. Karlovic was the runner up in 2015 and 2014, and in 2013 he was a quarterfinalist. Karlovic stands at 6’11” and is known for his powerful serve which has been clocked as high as 156 mph. He has a career total of 10,624 aces to date, making him the all-time record holder for career aces and one of just two players in the sport’s history to surpass 10,000 aces. Karlovic has won six ATP World Tour titles, with his most recent victory coming at the 2015 Delray Beach Open. He is currently ranked world No. 28.

American Steve Johnson, who is the third-highest ranked American player and current world No. 34 returns to Newport for the fourth straight year. He was a quarterfinalist at the event in 2014. This season, Johnson has advanced to the third round at the Australian Open, Indian Wells, and the Miami Open. Johnson has been active on the ATP World Tour for just four seasons, following a highly successful collegiate career at University of Southern California, where he won the NCAA Singles Championship in both 2011 and 2012. This season, Johnson has advanced to the third round at the Australian Open, Indian Wells, and the Miami Open.

Rounding out the recent commitments to the Newport player field is an exciting young Australian player, Thanasi Kokkinakis, who is making his Newport debut. Kokkinakis began actively competing on the ATP World Tour in 2014, closing that first season out inside the world top-150. Last year, he broke into the world top-100, reaching a career high ranking of world No. 69, in a season that saw him qualify for six ATP World Tour events, advance to the fourth round at Indian Wells, and the third round at the French Open. Kokkinakis has notched big wins against several top-50 players including Bernard Tomic, Ernest Gulbis, and Juan Monaco. Kokkinakis has been out for the entire 2016 season to date following shoulder surgery, but is prepping to return.

For additional information about the Hall of Fame Tennis Championships, please visit www.HallofFameTennisChampionships.com

—A. McLaughlin, Tennis Hall of Fame

Tennis Atlantic

Because Matches Are Never Played in the Media Tent

All posts tagged Thanasi Kokkinakis

Kokkinakis, Bolt, Rubin, and Gunneswaran Secure @BBTAtlantaOpen Main Draw Spots

Tommy Paul and Jason Jung Advance @BBTAtlantaOpen Qualifying

Australians Bernard Tomic and Thanasi Kokkinakis Seek @BBTAtlantaOpen Main Draw Berths

Big Serving Veteran John Isner Takes Maiden ATP 1000 Title in Miami

Kohlschreiber Caps Off Clay Season With Kitzbuhel Title, Querrey Doubles Up in Mexico

.@TKokkinakis, @Louisa_Chirico Headline @CitiOpen Qualies

.@RajeevRam to Defend @TennisHalloFame Title in July

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