A Belated Preview of the Atlanta Tennis Championships

Due to several reasons, I was unable to post the preview of the Atlanta event on my blog until today, but nevertheless, here it is. Luckily, there haven't been any major suprises yet, so I will briefly highlight the top 3 seeds chances at the tournament and also include a draw analysis at the end.

(1) Andy Roddick of the USA

By accepting a last-minute wildcard to this event, he not only boosted his chances in the U.S. Open Series, but also boosted the inagural year of the Atlanta Tennis Championships. The tournament previously took place in Indianapolis, but with some good work by the ATP, it was moved to the tennis capital of the U.S.: Atlanta. Roddick, who have a favorable draw here as the top seed, will look to win this tournamnet and set the tone very well for the remainder of the U.S. Open Series.

Remaining events this summer:

Washington D.C.

Toronto

Cincinnati

(2) John Isner of the USA

Isner, whose best results have come on the hard courts during the summer, is the perfect man for the Atlanta event. He went to college an hour away from Atlanta, he has the perfect game for the courts, and he is arguably the most famous man in tennis at the moment because of his marathon of a match against Mahut at Wimbledon just a few weeks ago. He also appeared on numerous talk shows including the Late Show with David Letterman and also receieved an ESPY for the best record breaking performance. So after a drama-filled start to the summer, Isner will now look toward the finish line at this tournament.

Remaining events this summer:

Washington D.C.

Toronto

Cincinnati

(3) Lleyton Hewitt of Australia

After having his second hip surgery in as many years, Hewitt looks as strong as he did when he was winning Grand Slams in the early 2000's. So far this season, he has reached the Wimbledon 4th round and beat Roger Federer at the grass court event in Halle before Wimbledon. With one of his Grand Slam titles coming in New York, he surely has to be among the favorites here in Atlanta.

Remaining events this summer:

Washington D.C.

Toronto

Cincinnati

Draw Analysis:

Semis: (1) Andy Roddick def. (6) Mardy Fish

(2) John Isner def. (3) Lleyton Hewitt

Championship: If the draw holds up, then it will be an all-American final between Andy Roddick and John Isner. The last time they played was at the U.S. Open last year and it was Isner who upset Roddick in a 5th set tiebreak. By all accounts, this match will be a close and tight affair and the player with the better serve on Sunday will win the match. At this point, I think that it will be John Isner because Roddick still hasn't shown his best results since his win in Miami and still needs more match play in order to get back to the top of his game though.

(2) John Isner def. (1) Andy Roddick, in three tight sets

Look for more updates on the blog regarding the Atlanta event and a preview of the women's event in Stanford later this week. Thanks for reading!

*This comes from my personal blog at http://tennisnewsnow.wordpress.com/