The summer hard-court swing begins this coming week with the Atlanta Open, kicking off the buildup to 2023’s fourth a final Grand Slam–the U.S. Open.
Atlanta will get things started in style, as it features an intriguing mix of veterans and rising stars in what is perhaps its best-ever draw dating back to the inaugural 2010 tournament. Six-time champion and former University of Georgia star John Isner returns to his stomping grounds, while Gael Monfils is back for the first time since the French Open and Kei Nishikori’s comeback to tennis continues with his first ATP event since the Indian Wells Masters in October of 2021. At the other end of the career spectrum, Ben Shelton and Yibing Wu have been two of the tour’s breakout stars over the past 12 months. Ethan Quinn and Alex Michelsen are two of the wild cards; Quinn just capped off his first and final season at Georgia with the NCAA singles title and Michelsen has signed with Georgia but may turn pro following his recent success at both the Challenger and ATP levels.
Also suiting up at this ATP 250 is the breakthrough performer at Wimbledon, Chris Eubanks. Like Shelton, Eubanks is an Atlanta native who will enjoy tons of crowd support–especially in the wake of his exploits at the All-England Club. The former Georgia Tech standout made a run to the quarterfinals in SW19, which was preceded by his first ATP title on the grass courts of Mallorca.
Meanwhile, the top two seeds are Taylor Fritz and Alex de Minaur. De Minaur has won this tournament in each of his past two appearances (2019 and 2022; it was cancelled by Covid in 2020 and the Aussie missed it in 2021 because of the Olympics). The 2019 Atlanta final saw De Minaur defeat Fritz 6-3, 7-6(2). Fritz, who also reached the semis in 2021 (lost to Isner), comes in this year as the No. 9 player in the world thanks in part to a 34-16 record in 2023 that includes a title at the Delray Beach Open.
A Fritz vs. De Minaur final rematch is possible, but getting there won’t be easy for either man. Fritz could face Wu in his opener, Shelton or Nishikori in the quarterfinals, and Isner or fourth-seeded Dan Evans in the semis. De Minaur awaits either Monfils or Thanasi Kokkinakis in round two. The 24-year-old is on a collision course with Ugo Humbert for the quarters and with Eubanks or No. 3 seed Yoshihito Nishioka for the semis.
In addition to Monfils vs. Kokkinakis, first-round matchups to watch are Michelsen vs. Maxime Cressy and Nishikori vs. Jordan Thompson.
who ya got?