TENNIS NEWS – REILLY OPELKA UPSETS KEVIN ANDERSON IN ATLANTA, JOINED BY JOHN ISNER AND DONALD YOUNG IN ALL-AMERICAN TOP HALF OF DRAW

Written by: Staff on 3rd August 2016

TENNIS NEWS - REILLY OPELKA UPSETS KEVIN ANDERSON IN ATLANTA, JOINED BY JOHN ISNER AND DONALD YOUNG IN ALL-AMERICAN TOP HALF OF DRAW

epa04870262 John Isner of the US in action against Marcos Baghdatis of Cyprus during the singles final match at the BB&T Atlanta Open tennis tournament at Atlantic Station in Atlanta, Georgia, USA, 02 August 2015. Isner defeated Baghdatis to win his third BB&T Atlanta Open in a row. EPA/ERIK S. LESSER |

Opelka upsets Anderson in Atlanta, joined by Isner and Young in all-American top half of draw

By Ricky Dimon

Two huge-serving Americans, John Isner and Reilly Opelka, kept the American train rolling at the BB&T Atlanta Open with second-round victories on Wednesday. Isner, the three-time defending champion, cruised through his contest against Adrian Mannarino 6-4, 6-0, while Opelka kept his impressive run going at the expense of No. 3 seed Kevin Anderson.

Opelka was undoubtedly the biggest story of the day. The 18-year-old scored his second career ATP-level match win and second already in Atlanta by fighting off two match points to shock Anderson 6-7(5), 6-3, 7-5.

Early in the first set, things weren’t going Opelka’s way at all. Although the 18-year-old broke straight back after donating serve at 1-2 and eventually forced a tiebreaker, he saw Anderson race out to a 4-1 lead. Opelka took care of his serves for 3-4, but additional clutch serving by the favorite brought about three set points at 6-3. Anderson watched two go by the wayside on Opelka’s serve before he closed the deal on his third chance.

Opelka responded well in set two, breaking early to go up 3-1 before saving three break points at 4-2 to lead 5-2 and force Anderson to serve to stay in it. The 2013 Atlanta runner-up delivered an emphatic hold at love to force his less-experienced adversary to serve out the set. Opelka made no mistake doing just that, serving it out to 15.

In the decider, some loose serving by the world No. 837 cost him an early break, which Anderson eventually turned into a 5-2 advantage. But Anderson cracked with victory on his racket, as he got broken at 5-3 after squandering two match points. With momentum in hand, Opelka held for 5-5 and earned another scalp of the Anderson serve to edge ahead 6-5. Having miraculously given himself a chance to serve for the biggest win of his tennis career, Opelka responded by holding at love.

In the primetime showdown, Isner kicked off his bid for a fourth straight title in style. Mannarino actually burst out of the gates on fire, seizing his first-ever break of Isner in their seventh career encounter for an early 2-1 advantage in the opening set. The Frenchman soon found himself ahead 4-2, but that is when things went downhill in a hurry. A donation of serve at 4-3 touched off a streak of 10 consecutive dropped games. That’s right; Isner went from trailing 4-2 in the opener to winning the match 6-4, 6-0 in only one hour and five minutes.

“I guess just getting that break at 4-3 (in the first set) to get it back on serve (was the turning point),” Isner reflected. “The previous game I had three break points but didn’t play that well, but it was still an encouraging game.

“I held serve at 4-2 and got it back on serve and from there felt really good about my chances. I certainly turned the match around. I don’t know if I’ve ever won 10 games in a row, but I’ll take it.”

All four remaining men in he top half of the bracket are Americans thanks to the victories by Opelka and Isner. Wednesday’s other two matches were always going to produce American winners, because Donald Young faced Tim Smyczek and Taylor Fritz went up against Bjorn Fratangelo. Young erased a set and a double-break deficit to overcome Smyczek 4-6, 7-6(1), 6-3, while Fritz also recovered from a slow start to defeat Fratangelo 4-6, 6-3, 6-2.

Ricky contributes to 10sballs.com and also maintains his own tennis website, The Grandstand.

Donald Young of the US in action against Gilles Mueller of Luxembourg during a first round match at the BB&T Atlanta Open tennis tournament at Atlantic Station in Atlanta, Georgia, USA, 27 July 2015. EPA/ERIK S. LESSER

Topics: 10sballs.com, Atp World Tour, BB&T Atlanta Open, Donald Young, John Isner, Reilly Opelka, Ricky Dimon, Sports, Tennis News

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ParentingAces says:

August 4, 2016 at 3:45 am

RT @10sBalls_com: Opelka Upsets Anderson In Atlanta, Joined By Isner & Young In All-American Top Half Of Draw
https://t.co/P9SKac5QL9 https…
buckeyetennis says:

August 4, 2016 at 4:10 am

RT @10sBalls_com: Opelka Upsets Anderson In Atlanta, Joined By Isner & Young In All-American Top Half Of Draw
https://t.co/P9SKac5QL9 https…