Frances Tiafoe, Reilly Opelka and Taylor Fritz to challenge John Isner in..
When the ATP tournament in Indianapolis lost the license in 2009, the event switched to Atlanta, Georgia and it stayed there ever since, with nine editions held so far. Home players were the dominant force right from the start, occupying 13 out of 18 places in the final and winning seven out of eight titles, with one name standing out as the most prominent figure of the BB&T Atlanta Open. Even before the start of the ATP event, John Isner had been the favorite tennis player in Atlanta, competing for the Georgia Bulldogs between 2003-2006 and winning more than 280 matches in singles and doubles!
The connections between Atlanta and Isner became even tighter when the ATP Tour came to this city and John was there to compete in every edition so far, reaching the final eight times and conquering five out of the last six trophies, losing to Nick Kyrgios in the title match in 2016. John is only the fifth American player who has managed to win the same ATP tournament at least five times after Jimmy Connors, John McEnroe, Andre Agassi and Pete Sampras, signing to play the BB&T Atlanta Open this July as the first confirmed singles player. The world no. 9 will kick off the action on July 24 in the evening session, seeking the 32nd win in Atlanta and the best possible start of the tenth campaign at his favorite tennis ground.
After that 7-6, 7-6 loss to Kyrgios in 2016, John has won the next eight encounters in Atlanta, overcoming Ryan Harrison in the title matches in 2017 and 2018 to increase the number of trophies won and stand on a stellar 31-4 score. The organizers have announced the names of John's first challengers, all coming from the new generation of American stars born in 1997 and 1998 that should carry the most successful tennis nation in the years to come. Pumped after the maiden ATP crown in New York in February, Reilly Opelka will compete in Atlanta for the third time, reaching the semi-final on debut in 2016 when he defeated Eubanks, Anderson and Young before a tight 6-7, 6-4, 6-2 loss to Isner in the battle for the place in the final.
Reilly should be one of the title contenders if he brings his 'A game,' recognized as one of the biggest servers in the game which has improved his baseline tennis a lot in the last couple of months. The Australian Open and Miami quarter-finalist Frances Tiafoe returns to Atlanta for the fourth time, hoping for the first good result in Georgia after winning just one out of four matches so far at this event. In the end, Taylor Fritz will compete in Atlanta for the fourth straight year, losing to Isner in the quarter-final in 2016 and failing to repeat that in the last couple of years, halted by Eubanks and Chung in the early rounds.
from Tennis World USA https://ift.tt/2HMFKA6
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