By a score of 7-6 2-6 6-4 Steve Johnson will leave American soil a victor in Houston over countryman and first time ATP finalist Tennys Sandgren. Johnson beat five Americans in Houston, Ernesto Escobedo, Frances Tiafoe, John Isner, and Taylor Fritz being his opposition en route to the final. His win against Tiafoe was the only that came in straight sets on the week. It’s a title defense for Johnson as he won in Houston last year.
Sandgren, aiming for a first ATP title, came up just short, but he made the final with wins over Blaz Kavcic, Nicolas Kicker, Guido Pella, and Ivo Karlovic. Only against Pella did he drop a set. Oswald/Mirnyi took the doubles title over Begemann/Sancic.
Veteran Spaniard Pablo Andujar had only won one ATP match over the 2016-2017 seasons and his career was looking to be almost over. However he’s made a solid comeback from injury, capped off with a 250 title in Marrakech, an event where he had emerged victorious twice previously. Andujar eased past Kyle Edmund 6-2 6-2 and dropped just one set on the week in wins against Ilya Ivashka, Andrea Arnaboldi, Alexey Vatutin, and Joao Sousa.
Edmund played great on clay with wins against Jiri Vesely, Radu Albot, Malek Jaziri, and Richard Gasquet. He’ll be hoping for much more in the bigger ATP clay stops to come though.
Mektic/Peya beat the French pairing of Benoit Paire/Edouard Roger-Vasselin to take the doubles title.
Davis Cup Heroes Isner, Querrey, Sock, and Harrison Feature at ATP Houston 2018 Steen Kirby, Tennis Atlantic
The 2018 US Men’s Clay Court Championships in Houston, a 250 stop on the ATP tour, feature all the members of the USA Davis Cup Team and a host of others battling it out on North America’s only ATP clay court event.
Wins at the Davis Cup and in Miami set John Isner up to beat Dustin Brown/Henri Laaksonen, then Frances Tiafoe or Steve Johnson to reach the semis. Johnson faces fellow American Ernesto Escobedo, while Tiafoe takes on fellow American Mackenzie McDonald. Tiafoe should beat Johnson in round 2.
Jack Sock has had a rough season and I’ll back Yoshihito Nishioka, a qualifier, to test him in round 2 after upsetting Horacio Zeballos. I’ll go with Sock to advance to the quarters opposite Taylor Fritz or Ryan Harrison. Fritz opens with Tim Smyczek, while Harrison takes on qualifier Miomir Kecmanovic. Everyone in this section needs form, but I’ll hack Sock over Harrison to advance.
Sam Querrey will face Guido Pella or Stefan Kozlov. Pella is struggling badly and thus Querrey is a heavy favorite to reach the quarters. Tennys Sandgren takes on Blaz Kavcic, then Nicolas Kicker or Donald Young for a spot in the quarters. Both Young and Sandgren are in awful form, and I’ll go with Kicker to advance from the section with wins over Young and Sandgren before falling to Querrey.
Nick Kyrgios vs. Fernando Verdasco is looking like a fantastic quarterfinal matchup. Verdasco opens with Denis Kudla, then Taro Daniel or Ivo Karlovic. Kyrgios should be tested by Bjorn Fratangelo or countryman Jordan Thompson before the quarterfinals. I’ll go with Verdasco on clay to advance past Kyrgios and into the semis, but either player could win the whole tournament.
As poor as he was prior to Miami, it’s hard to pick against Isner right now as he’s the strongest player in the Houston field. Verdasco also has a real shot here.
Borna Coric and Steve Johnson Kickoff 2017 ATP Clay Court Season With Titles Steen Kirby, Tennis Atlantic
ATP Marrakech
After struggling to start the season, in large part due to rust from injury, Borna Coric is finding form once again and he showed some of his best tennis this week in Morocco, as he took home a maiden ATP title in Marrakech on clay. The 20 year old was pushed to three sets in three matches this week, and had to save match points against his veteran opponent Philipp Kohlschreiber in the final, but after reaching the final for the second straight year, he simply not be denied the trophy, digging deep on pressure points, while Kohlschreiber crumbled. Coric took the final 5-7 7-6 7-5 after beating Jiri Vesely in straight sets in the semis. He beat Diego Schwartzman in straights in round 1, but then needed three sets against Reda El Amrani and Albert Ramos-Vinolas in rounds 2 and 3.
The veteran Kohlschreiber made his first final of the season with wins over Jan-Lennard Struff, Jeremy Chardy, and Benoit Paire, dropping sets to his first two opponents before routining Paire. Kohlschreiber has had an awful time closing matches out when he has a match point this season, and it’s cost him big victories, such as the trophy that was on offer today.
Dominic Inglot and Mate Pavic teamed up to beat Marcel Granollers and Marc Lopez to take the doubles final in an upset.
ATP Houston
The crop of top American men continue to show improvements this season, Steve Johnson claimed a second career ATP title and his first on American soil with a narrow three set victory over Thomaz Bellucci 6-4 4-6 7-6. Johnson posted his best results of the season, and he reached the final by virtue of defeating defending champion Jack Sock in the semifinals, that win coming in three sets, along with wins over Dustin Brown and Fernando Verdasco in previous rounds. Johnson is not at his best on European clay, but should be a notable contender in the grass court season this summer.
A big hitter like Johnson, Bellucci had long matches all week, and was able to win them up until the final where he cracked under pressure. The 32 year old reached his first ATP final in more than a year with three set wins over Frances Tiafoe, Maximo Gonzalez, Sam Querrey, and Ernesto Escobedo, yet another American who has reached a high water mark this year, Escobedo is safely inside the top 100 after his result, which included a quarterfinal victory over a struggling John Isner.
Julio Peralta and Horacio Zeballos beat the exciting pairing of Dustin Brown and Frances Tiafoe in the doubles final by virtue of a third set super tiebreak.
2017 ATP Houston Preview and Predictions Steen Kirby, Tennis Atlantic
It’s time to preview and predict the last USA ATP Tour stop until the Summer, it’s the U.S. Men’s Clay Court Championships in Houston, which is also the only ATP Tour event played on har-tru clay.
Fayez Sarofim and Co. U.S. Men’s Clay Court Championships
ATP World Tour 250
Houston, TX, USA
April 10-16, 2017
Surface: Clay
Prize Money: $535,625
Top 4 seeds (who all recieve first round byes) (ATP ranking in parentheses)
1: Jack Sock (15)
2: John Isner (23)
3: Sam Querrey (25)
4: Steve Johnson (29)
The top 4 seeds are all American, something quite fitting for the U.S. Clay Court Championships
First round matchups to watch:
(6)Feliciano Lopez vs. (WC)Bjorn Fratangelo
Having lost five straight Lopez badly needs some momentum and a win here, he’s favored against the American wild card Fratangelo, but Fratangelo is actually competitive on clay and with Lopez playing so poorly, I have Frantangelo pulling an upset.
(8)Thomaz Bellucci vs. Frances Tiafoe
Tiafoe has limited tour experience overall, and even less on clay, but the veteran Bellucci is coming off of putting in road work in the Davis Cup and could be fatigued. Tiafoe showed good form in Miami and with the home fans behind him he has a great shot at knocking off a seed in this one.
Top Half:
2015 champion Jack Sock is returning from Australia, and he’ll be thankful for the bye in round 1, both Reilly Opelka and Tommy Haas are tricky opponents, but Sock should beat the big serving Opelka, then defeat Victor Estrella, who I have beating Hyeon Chung, returning from injury, and the Fratangelo/Lopez winner.
Steve Johnson looks set to defeat two-time and defending champion Juan Monaco, who opens with Dustin Brown and needs form having barely played this season, before falling to Fernando Verdasco in the quarterfinals. Verdasco opens with Kevin Anderson, who has yet to return to his former top 30 form, Nicolas Kicker or qualifier Noah Rubin will follow. Verdasco has a great draw and should emerge from this section.
Bottom Half:
John Isner is also traveling back from Australia, he could have trouble against qualifier Leonardo Mayer, but having formerly won this tournament he should find things comfortable enough in round 2, before defeating Donald Young in the quarters. Young needs to beat Thiago Monteiro and either Ernesto Escobedo or qualifier Tennys Sandgren, who is making his ATP main draw debut. Young has a great shot against Isner, but on clay I give Isner an edge.
Rogerio Dutra Silva comes off a challenger title, after facing Horacio Zeballos he should take on Sam Querrey, Querrey will then have Jared Donaldson/qualifier Maximo Gonzalez or Bellucci/Tiafoe in the quarters, most likely Donaldson. Querrey, like Sock, has had a good season thus far and should beat Donaldson to reach the semis in this open section.
Dark Horse: Leonardo Mayer
Mayer has shown his ability in the past to perform at a level beyond his current ranking, including on clay, if Isner is in poor form or simply jetlagged, the qualifier has a great shot at reaching the quarterfinals and beyond.
Predictions
Semis Verdasco d. Sock
Isner d. Querrey
Verdasco should be fresh and Sock did not impress in the Davis Cup, Isner on clay should edge past Querrey just given past performance at this tournament.
Final Verdasco d. Isner
This is a great opportunity for the veteran Verdasco to snatch a title late in his career.
Jack Sock continued his hot streak since returning to the ATP tour, and won his maiden ATP title in a rain delayed final over Sam Querrey 7-6 7-6. The match began with a sloppy first set that got delayed midway through after a pair of breaks, one for each player. Upon the resumption of the match, Sock and Querrey battled to a tiebreak, and though Querrey was 5-3 up at one point and had three set point chances in the breaker, Sock would be the one to take it 11-9 on his second set point chance.
In set 2 Sock saved a break point in the opening game, and broke back Querrey 3-4 down later on. Sock would have a match point at 5-6 in the second set on Querrey’s serve, but couldn’t convert. However once they got to the tiebreak, Sock was the superior mover, and shotmaker and came up with some quality shots to comfortably take it 7-2. As to be expected, Sock was mentally tougher than Querrey when it mattered, though he posted 11 double faults (Querrey had 6) and generally it was a close match.
On the week, Sock was simply on fire, he got past Joao Souza in 3 sets in the opening round, then beat Roberto Bautista Agut, and Santiago Giraldo, both solid clay court players in straight sets. In the semis he got past Kevin Anderson with a tiebreak and a break of serve. The young American is rising and is playing like a top 20 player right now. This was also his maiden ATP final.
Querrey posted his best result of the season and reached his first ATP final in three seasons with a retirement win over Marinko Matosevic, a 3 set win over Steve Johnson, and then an upset of Feliciano Lopez in straight sets. In the semis he shocked Fernando Verdasco, a favorite to take the title, in 3 sets. As often happens in Houston, the har-tru surface played differently than red clay, and thus produced some surprising results.
Ricardas Berankis and Teymuraz Gabashvili, an alternate pairing, pulled off some huge upsets to win the doubles title over Treat Huey and Scott Lipsky. They beat the Bryan brothers and also Lindstedt/Melzer in earlier rounds.
The 2015 Grand Prix Hassan II, as to be expected given its weak field, produced some surprising results, and that culminated with Martin Klizan winning his third career ATP title over maiden finalist Daniel Gimeno-Traver, a journeyman veteran. Klizan improved to 3-0 in ATP finals with a 6-2 6-2 drubbing of DGT, the 29 year old simply couldn’t handle the powerful game of Klizan, and he didn’t help his own cause by failing to convert all 7 break point chances he had during the match.
Klizan, the 2 seed, had to survive Dustin Brown in a third set tiebreak in his first match, but improved as the week went on, defeating Nicolas Almagro in an upset in the next round in 2 sets, and then Damir Dzumhur in 3 sets, as he clawed back from a set down. Though he fell in the semis, it’s still perhaps the best result of Dzumhur’s career.
DGT beat Malek Jaziri, and then Mikhail Kukushkin, Lamine Ouahab, and 3 seed Jiri Vesely, the latter in a close 3 set battle, as Vesely was aiming to make his second ATP final of the season but came up just short. Ouahab is also a remarkable story, the out of shape veteran, and former world class junior player, upset both Robin Haase and Guillermo Garcia-Lopez (who was the top seed and defending champion), in straight sets, as his wacky, drop shot centric style of play flummoxed his opponents. Ouahab was a clear fan favorite with local fans, the Algerian turned Moroccan is 22-1 on home soil this year, with all of those matches coming on clay.
Rameez Junaid and Adil Shamasdin beat top seeds Rohan Bopanna and Florin Mergea in the doubles final. It’s their first career doubles title together, and overall the second for Shamasdin and the first for Junaid.
ATP Houston Thursday, Sock upsets a struggling Bautista Agut, Giraldo outlasts Tipsarevic Jeff McMillan, Tennis Atlantic
Photo Credit: Jeff McMillan
Another warm day in Houston at the US Men’s Clay Court Championships began with an intriguing matchup between Jack Sock and the #2 seed Roberto Bautista-Agut. Sock had won the previous meeting between these two players just a few weeks ago in Indian Wells and he was looking to make it two straight vs the top 15 player but this time it would have to be on the Spaniard’s favorite surface.
His quest to do just that began positively with a break in the 3rd game of the match to go up 2-1. Sock kept his advantage all through the 1st set despite Bautista-Agut’s chances. The Spaniard was able to get into Sock’s service games, often getting to 0-30, 15-30, deuce and even had a few break points here and there but was unable to ever even the match. RBA seemed to be a tad timid on his footwork and was arriving to balls late, causing them to go into the net or go long. Killing his usual strength of consistency. Sock on the other hand was hitting his forehand hard and reliably which contributed to RBA’s lateness of getting to the shots. Sock served out the first set in style with some big serves and a rocket forehand winner to take it 6-4.
At the start of the 2nd set Sock hit a rough patch. He double faulted a couple times (9 times in total in the match, he would later say that the wind was an issue all match long) and had a very easy putaway forehand go into the net. Despite these hiccups he did not concede serve and that ended up being the key to the match, holding despite not serving or playing his very best at the beginning of the 2nd set. At 2-2 in the 2nd set there was a slight controversy with a ball mark and Bautista-Agut said something across the net to Sock and Sock said something back. Right after that Sock served two huge service winners and let out a loud bellow of “Yeah! Come on!” after each serve right at the direction of Bautista-Agut. This seemed to amp up Sock even more as he quickly got to 3 break points in the very next game on RBA’s serve. He did not convert on any of the 3 but at deuce RBA made a lazy backhand error and threw in a double fault on the 4th break point to give Sock a break, which he would not relinquish.
Determined to punch his way to the quarterfinals. Sock held serve the rest of the match with very little drama until 30-30 5-4 with Sock serving for the match. On that crucial point Sock hit a risky forehand chip and charged the net, the chip barely clipped the line on the sideline and he was able to finish the point off at the net. One more millimeter to the left and Sock would have faced a break point right there, but instead he had a match point, which he converted with a good kick serve. The young American will now go on the quarterfinals where he will face Santiago Giraldo who defeated Janko Tipsarevic.
Speaking of Giraldo vs Tipsarevic, that was the next match on center court. This was a highly anticipated match as everyone was very curious to see how Tipsarevic would fare vs. a top 40 player in Giraldo after his long layoff and how well he would respond after his long match on Tuesday. He answered the early questions very positively looking like he hadn’t missed a beat, playing aggressively and hitting the ball heavily. He broke early and took a 4-2 lead in the set. Giraldo would not back down however, He unleashed two consecutive rocket backhands in the next game, using his trademark easy power to set up a couple of break points of his own. Giraldo converted on the break and evened the set. From this point on in the set it was a very good back and forth battle with both players trading blows until the tiebreak. In the tiebreak a key point was at 2-1 with Giraldo up, a slice took a terrible bounce and Tipsarevic could not hit it back and Giraldo took the 3-1 mini-break lead. From this point on Giraldo played great and did not let Tipsarevic back into the tiebreak and took it 7-2 to the delight of a small section of Colombian tennis fans who screamed out “Santi!!” after every one of his positive points.
Giraldo rallied past Tipsarevic (photo credit: Jeff McMillan)
Early in the 2nd set Giraldo showed visible signs of frustration despite his lead. He sensed an opportunity to put Tipsarevic away early but until that point was not able to completely put the nail in the coffin. Tipsarevic’s level dropped considerably in the 2nd set, whether it was stamina related or not (after the match he would discuss his focus waning in the 2nd set). A weak forehand error into the net followed by a double fault gave Giraldo a break, one that he would not relinquish. Giraldo continued to connect sweetly on the backhand side, sending his laser shots to each corner of the court and Tipsarevic was unable to keep up and unable to make an impact of his own on Giraldo. The match came to its conclusion with a 7-6(2) 6-3 win for Santiago Giraldo. After the match I was able to catch up with Janko Tipsarevic.
Tipsarevic performed well in his comeback tournament (photo credit: Jeff McMillan)
In the first match of the evening session Fernando Verdasco defeated Hyeon Chung 7-6(5) 6-2. This match was my personal favorite of the day. It pitted a 31-year-old veteran vs. an 18 year old up and comer.
Chung and Verdasco thrilled fans with their match (photo credit: Jeff McMillan)
Chung’s game was impressive in person. His anticipation instincts are very apparent when you first watch him. Several times in the match he read Verdasco’s intentions perfectly and thwarted the Spaniard’s attempts at being wily. In the first set Verdasco appeared to have the game plan to make Chung play as he hit several balls back with little pace simply content to keep the rally going, seemingly testing the 18 year old’s ability. Chung was up for the challenge as he bossed several of the rallies, hitting winners down the line from both wings and keeping Verdasco scrambling. Verdasco did win his fair share of long rallies as well to counter Chung but it was very impressive that Chung was able hold his game and be so evenly matched with the Houston defending champion for so long. Chung also showed signs that he truly believed he could win. However late in the first set Verdasco changed tactics slightly, going for more on his shots and using his big forehand. He also started to bomb serves more often, two serves at 137 mph and one at 138 mph. Verdasco won the long titanic first set battle 7-6(5), one of the most enjoyable sets of tennis I have seen in person.
In the 2nd set Verdasco used his new tactics effectively, being more aggressive and keeping Chung more off balance. The Korean’s game dropped slightly as well which allowed Nando to dictate play more and more as the 2nd set went on. One tactic he was able to use effectively was drawing Chung out wide to his backhand side with the crosscourt lefty forehand, Chung had shaky footwork to that side and slipped often, almost guaranteeing the point for Verdasco each time he used that tactic. Verdasco cruised to a 6-2 2nd set which was a mild letdown after the high quality of the first set, but regardless the young Korean can be very proud of his efforts in Houston.
In the nightcap John Isner was stunned by Teymuraz Gabashvilli 6-2 7-6(2) in a result that almost nobody saw coming. This capped what was an amazing day for Gabashvilli as earlier in the day he paired with Berankis in doubles to stun the Bryan brothers. That opens up the draw significantly and it makes the rest of the tournament very very interesting. Huey/Lipsky beat Brunstrom/Young in the other doubles match on the day.
The Bryans were shocked in doubles (photo credit: Jeff McMillan)
ATP Houston Wednesday: Anderson serves up a win over Delbonis, Querrey wins battle of the Yanks with Johnson Jeff McMillan, Tennis Atlantic
Photo Credit: Jeff McMillan
Today began my coverage of the 2015 US Men’s Clay Court Championships ATP 250 event in Houston, TX. The event is held at the pristine River Oaks Country Club right near the heart of the 4th most populous city in the United States. The canopy and hedging provide a nice relaxing atmosphere for the Har-Tru clay center court.
I arrived just in time to see Jeremy Chardy finish off Go Soeda 6-3 6-3. Chardy looked to be in complete control, really dictating each point with his forehand. He was not missing and was dragging Soeda all over the place. Chardy had a minor blip while serving for the match at 6-3 5-2 as he was broken after a few errors caused by a last gasp effort by Soeda. But the Frenchman did not allow that to derail his plans of winning in routine fashion as he promptly broke Soeda right back to clinch a date in the quarterfinals. After the match Chardy was asked by the on-court reporter what it was like to be ranked inside the top 40 in the world but only the 6th best player in your own country. Chardy remarked that “I am never able to play Davis Cup” with a slight laugh to indicate the difficulty of being a standout when one is a French tennis player.
Chardy advanced (photo credit: Jeff McMillan)
The next match on Center Court was Kevin Anderson vs Federico Delbonis. This was an interesting matchup and effectively a 50/50 match. Anderson being the much higher ranked player but Delbonis having more clout on clay.
The first set began in a shaky manner. Each player donated a break to the other very early in the set. Anderson looked off balance for much of the first few games, constantly hitting shots flat-footed, which caused several rather routine errors. Delbonis donated many of his own errors, which did not allow him to take advantage of Anderson’s sow start. At 3-4 in the first set with Anderson serving things got interesting. Down 15-30 in his service game, Anderson reared back and cranked his biggest serve of the match to that point at 140 mph. That immediately shifted some momentum to the side of the South African as he played a few strong points after that to even the set at 4-4. Delbonis felt the momentum going against him and tightened up a bit, making a few errors to give Anderson a break and a 5-4 lead. After a shaky start Anderson appeared to have righted the ship, as one would expect a top 20 player to do and looked poised to serve out the first set. However that assumption would turn out to be very wrong. Anderson played by far his weakest game of the match. He made three unforced errors and threw in a double fault for good measure to give away his chance to take the 1st set. Delbonis then held easily to go up 6-5. Anderson punched back yet again by serving four unreturned bombs to send the 1st set to a tiebreak, with momentum being effectively even.
In the tiebreak Delbonis would take his game up a notch. He found his forehand and painted the lines on a few occasions. Anderson double faulted once and started making backhand errors. Delbonis hit two great forehand winners from 5-4 up to tae the tiebreak 7-4.
Early in the 2nd set Anderson looked rigid and continued his double fault woes. However he managed to hold to start the set and that seemed to relax him as he then started playing some very solid points, dictating play from all around the court and was rewarded with an early break to go up in the set. Delbonis’s level was clearly dropping and he began to checkout of rallies, often dumping a backhand into the net on a seemingly routine balls. Anderson capped off the set with a break at love to give him his first 6-0 set win since 2011 (thanks to Jared Pine for this stat) ad to a 3rd set we would go.
Delbonis came out of the gates firing in the 3rd set, quickly taking a 30-0 lead on Anderson’s serve, knowing that a break would be massive for him to start the decisive set. However; missed service returns doomed him in his attempt to break. Anderson would go on to break Delbonis at love to go up 3-1 and it looked like it was the South African’s match to take. Anderson was sensing blood in the water and dropped two 141 mph serves in his service game as he attempted to consolidate the break. However; the big serves would not be of any consequence as Delbonis somehow found his backhand and hit a laser beam winner past Anderson to set up a break point which he would convert on his first attempt. The players would exchange service holds to make it 4-3 to Kevin Anderson. Delbonis would go up 30-0 in his service game but that’s when the wheels would fall off. Two consecutive double faults and a bad forehand error gave Anderson a break point, which Delbonis saved but could not save the game on Anderson’s 3rd break point. Serving at 5-3 up Anderson closed out the match in definitive fashion determined to not allow Delbonis yet another breath of life. Game set match Kevin Anderson 6-7(4) 6-0 6-3.
After the match I caught up with Delbonis for a brief interview. . He appears to be taking it easy this clay season, just hoping to get his game back on track and hopefully build for the future in this rebuilding phase of his career.
Anderson goes on to the quarterfinals where he will face off with Chardy.
The 3rd match of the day featured two well-known Americans, Sam Querrey vs. Steve Johnson. Querrey came out very solid, sticking to his game and being consistent with his shots. Johnson however came out very rocky, missing a lot of backhands and his usually reliable forehand was missing more often than not. Visibly frustrated, Johnson went for big shots late in the 1st set, apparently biding his time for the 2nd set. In the 2nd set Johnson fought through his struggles and began to play better. The players each held serve with relative ease until Johnson broke Querrey to go up 5-3. Serving for the set, Johnson cracked, reverting back to 1st set form he made errors and an unlucky net cord sealed the break for Querrey. In a surprise twist of fate Johnson dug deep and stole a break from Querrey to sneak out the set 6-4 against the tide of momentum.
The 3rd set would be an even more lopsided version of the first set. Johnson managed to win just 6 points in the entire set, the plot completely lost while Querrey just stayed the course. In this particular match Querrey appeared to be more poised and steady and in the end he was rewarded with his first career ATP win over Johnson (had been 0-4 in total sets previously) 6-1 4-6 6-0.
Talking to other media after the match Querrey said he is improving his play this year and is starting to “play good 2 out of every 3 weeks instead of only 1 out of every 3 weeks”. The next few days will show just how good this week will be for Querrey as he will face Feliciano Lopez in the quarterfinals who is coming off of a routine 6-3 6-3 dusting of Sam Groth.
The double scores were Brunstrom/Young over Devvarman/Singh 6-3 6-1, Lindstedt/Melzer over Daniell/Giraldo 6-4 6-1, Frystenberg/Gonzalez over Estrella/Souza 6-3 6-1, and the Bryan brothers over Tipsarevic/Petzschner in a thriller 5-7 6-2 13-11.
Check back tomorrow through twitter @tennisatlantic for more live updates, pictures, videos and even more interviews as the other 2nd round matches get underway!
