Atlanta final preview and prediction: Isner vs. Kyrgios

It will be No. 1 seed John Isner facing No. 2 seed Nick Kyrgios in the Atlanta final on Sunday. Isner’s defense of three consecutive titles will be put to the test against Kyrgios, who is making his first appearance at this event and looking for his second career ATP winner’s trophy.

Top two seeds John Isner and Nick Kyrgios will be going head-to-head for the third time in their careers when they battle for the Atlanta title on Sunday afternoon. Both of their previous encounters have gone Isner’s way; 6-3, 6-7(7), 6-4 on the red clay of Madrid in 2015 and 7-5, 6-3 a few months later on the hard courts of Montreal.

Atlanta is probably the last place Kyrgios would choose as a setting at which to get revenge on his 6’10” opponent. After all, Isner is an incredible 24-3 lifetime at this tournament with seven straight trips to at least the semifinals–including now six to the title match. Despite a lackluster 2016 campaign up to this point, the former University of Georgia star has once again picked up the pace in Atlanta with victories over Adrian Mannarino, Taylor Fritz, and Reilly Opelka. Isner, who beat Mannarino and Fritz in straight sets before going three against Opelka, has broken serve 11 times through three matches.

All of that being said, Kyrgios is not about to back down from a challenge that he relishes.

“I’m looking forward to it, to be honest–not having to run for so many balls,” the 21-year-old said after surviving a mostly baseline struggle against Yoshihito Nishioka in the semis. “I’m looking forward to just getting out there and not having 20-ball rallies. Whoever’s going to serve the best and compete the best is probably going to win the match.”

Although Kyrgios has looked down and out in the Atlanta heat at times this week, he competed well enough to outlast both Nishioka and Fernando Verdasco in three setters. The 18th-ranked Australian preceded those results by beating Jared Donaldson 7-6(4), 6-3 during second-round action. Kyrgios is now a stellar 29-11 for the season, which includes his first career ATP title on the indoor hard courts of Marseille.

“Just sort of stay with him,” Isner said when asked about the key to triumphing on Sunday. “He can be prone to some mental lapses. I don’t think he’s done that this week; but he can be prone to that. He’s definitely motivated here and he’s an unbelievable player at 21. For how young he is, he’s certainly one of the next budding stars–absolutely. It’s going to be a fun match for me. This is arguably one of the toughest finals I’ve ever been a part of. He’s a good friend of mine and it will be a lot of fun.”

“We talked at the start of the week that we’d like to play each other in the final,” Kyrgios added. “In previous weeks before this event, we knew we were both going to be in Atlanta and we’re going to have a good time. It’ll be awesome.”

But it may not be quite as awesome for the second seed as it is for the three-time defending champion. Just one of the aforementioned mental lapses on serve may be too much for Kyrgios to afford, so Isner should pick up yet another trophy in Atlanta.