The top half of the Atlanta draw has produced a distinct American flavor from start to finish, and now all four remaining players hail from the host nation. John Isner is continuing his title defense against Taylor Fritz in the quarterfinals, while Donald Young battles Reilly Opelka.
(1) John Isner vs. (8) Taylor Fritz
Isner’s 2016 campaign has been mostly a disappointment, and even his favorite time of year–the North American hard-court swing–is off to a lackluster start. The 6’10” American fell in the Washington, D.C. quarterfinals to Steve Johnson and lost in the Toronto second round to Ryan Harrison. But the BB&T Atlanta Open has never failed to cure whatever has ailed Isner and it looks like his favorite tournament may do exactly the same this summer. The top seed and three-time defending champion improved to 21-3 lifetime in Atlanta by winning a hard-to-believe 10 games in a row en route to blowing out Adrian Mannarino 6-4, 6-0 on Wednesday night.
Pick: Isner in 2
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(WC) Reilly Opelka vs. (7) Donald Young
Young and Opelka, who have each saved two match points en route to the Atlanta quarterfinals, will be going head-to-head for the first time in their careers on Friday. This is Young’s seventh appearance in the seventh installment of this tournament’s history and he is finally making a debut appearance in the last eight. Since winning his opening match in 2010, the 53rd-ranked American had lost six Atlanta matches in a row before overcoming Austin Krajicek 3-6, 7-6(10), 7-5 on Monday. Young improved to an even 15-15 for the year after staging another comeback in round two, recovering from a set and double-break deficit to stun Tim Smyczek 4-6, 7-6(1), 6-3 on Wednesday.
Opelka captured his first ATP-level match victory by holding off Georgia Tech top player Christopher Eubanks in pair of tiebreakers on Tuesday. The 18-year-old American, who registers at 6’11”, parlayed that into what has to be considered the biggest win of his entire tennis career–juniors included. Even though Kevin Anderson’s 2016 campaign has been an injury-plagued disaster, he is still a solid 28th in the world and coming off a quarterfinal performance in Toronto. The 6’8” South African had two match points against Opelka on Wednesday, but the underdog clawed back to prevail 6-7(5), 6-3, 7-5. Opelka’s big serve will equalize the playing field to an extent, but Young has suddenly learned how to come up clutch with the pressure on in Atlanta and he should be able to do the same on his way to the semis.
Pick: Young in 3
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Opelka and Isner in three
very possible
Isner in 2, Young in 3