Verdasco wins Atlanta opener, joined in second round by Fritz

Fernando Verdasco enjoyed a successful debut at the BB&T Atlanta Open on Tuesday evening, when he defeated Dusan Lajovic 7-6(2), 6-4. Verdasco served at 70 percent during the first-round affair and held all 11 of his service games to prevail in one hour and 26 minutes.

The 32-year-old is ultimately bidding for his second title of the 2016 campaign, having previously lifted a winner’s trophy at a 250-point event on the clay of Bucharest.

“It was great to win a tournament again,” Verdasco told the ATP website. “I’m trying and working hard not only to win titles–of course winning titles is the best feeling at the end–but also to be competitive every week and to win matches. To try to be at the level that I used to be, meaning that if I play good I can beat almost every player in the world.”

Verdasco may have to beat one of the most talented players in the world in the quarterfinals, because he is in the same section of the Atlanta draw is Nick Kyrgios. But the 48th-ranked Spaniard first has to snag another win over Julien Benneteau, while Kyrgios has second-round battle with Jared Donaldson on his hands.

Joining Verdasco in the last 16 is Taylor Fritz, who cruised past wild-card entry Austin Smith 6-2, 6-2 in the nightcap. Fritz struck seven aces without double-faulting a single time, fought off both of the break points he faced, and broke serve four times to seal the deal in one hour and five minutes.

The only real drama came during–and after–a diffucult service game for the 18-year-old American at 2-1 in the second set. Fritz felt Smith’s University of Georgia teammates had crossed the line in terms of their cheering against him, so he put his finger to his lips and stared them down after holding for 3-1.

“I know everyone was gonna root for him,” Fritz assured. “I wasn’t expecting all the curses and personal insults I was getting. (I gave the “be quiet” signal) just to the Georgia team, because they were saying some pretty bad stuff. I get that’s how it goes in college, so I wanted to give it back.

“It’s tough when you know the whole stadium is against you, aside from a couple people. But I was happy that I was able to play within myself and get the job done in straight sets…. When it was important, I came up with some pretty good serves.”

Up next for Fritz is another American, Bjorn Frantangelo. The winner of that showdown could run into three-time defending champion John Isner in the quarters. Isner’s title defense will start against Adrian Mannarino on Wednesday evening.

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