Americans hoping to build momentum for U.S. Open Series in Atlanta

The director of the BB&T Atlanta Open, Eddie Gonzalez, commented in his Monday press conference that his vision for the event is to become a “mini-U.S. Open.”

It may not be quite there yet, but it does kick off the annual U.S. Open Series and for at least two Americans this week it is one of their favorite and also one of their most important events on the entire schedule.

John Isner is the No. 1 seed for the fifth installment of the Atlanta tournament, which as recently as a few days ago was all set to boast its best-ever field. But Isner now also has the status of clear-cut title favorite following the sudden withdrawals of Richard Gasquet and Gael Monfils, not to mention those of Lleyton Hewitt, Radek Stepanek, and Ivo Karlovic.

“This is still a very tough field,” Isner said. “There are a lot of good players and I hope the fans come out like they always have in the past. I’m going to do my best to progress as far as I can in this tournament. I’ve had good results here in the past.”

Good? More like great.

Isner is 12-3 lifetime in Atlanta with two runner-up finishes (both to Mardy Fish), a semifinal showing in 2012, and a title in 2013. Last summer’s triumph, which featured seven tiebreakers (six won by Isner) in four matches, propelled him to additional summer success. The former University of Georgia standout reached the Washington, D.C. final one week later (lost to Juan Martin Del Potro) and beat Del Potro and Novak Djokovic in Cincinnati before succumbing to Rafael Nadal in the final of that Masters 1000 event.

“Last year I wasn’t playing that great at the very beginning of this tournament,” Isner reflected. “But the more you win the more confident you get and I was able to win a lot of close matches. Eventually I got to the point where I was playing extremely well. This tournament is hugely critical for me to set up the rest of my summer. I have done very well at this tournament in the past and it has set me up very well after that so I’m looking to do the same thing this year.

“I feel very much at home here. Obviously I spent four years of my life just about an hour away from here. I have great support. I’m so lucky to have a tournament like this here; to have the fans on my side. That’s a huge reason why I’ve done so well in the past. On top of that it’s on a surface that I like. It’s just a good tournament; a good spot in the season for me.”

Fellow American Tim Smyczek agrees. Smyczek successfully qualified last summer, beating Donald Young in the final round, before coming out on the short end of a third-set tiebreaker against James Blake in main draw. The world No. 112 has already gone one step further this time around, thanks to a 6-0, 6-2 rout of Ryan Harrison on Tuesday.

“I enjoy playing here,” Smyczek assured. “It’s a really unique setup and hopefully there will be more tournaments like this one in the future.”

Speaking of the future, Smyczek–not unlike Isner–hopes this event can springboard him into the U.S. Open. It did just that last season, when he parlayed Atlanta success into the tournament of his life in New York. Smyczek reached the third round of a Grand Slam for the first time in his career then played amidst a raucous pro-American crowd on the Grandstand, ultimately losing a thriller to Marcel Granollers 7-5 in the fifth set.

“That’s what we play for, especially as Americans,” Smyczek said. “That’s what we’re shooting for; to get back to that point. Hopefully this week will help us build toward that.”