John Isner will return to his Atlanta stomping grounds for a meeting with Dominik Koepfer on Tuesday afternoon. First-round action also wraps up with a big-hitting showdown between Maxime Cressy and Alex Michelsen.
(SE) John Isner vs. Dominik Koepfer
Isner is participating at the Atlanta Open for the 13th time in his career, and to say that his record at this event is impressive would be a gross understatement. The 38-year-old American has won it in exactly half of his trips; that’s right, he has lifted the trophy on six occasions. He has also finished runner-up three times. Isner is 37-6 lifetime in Atlanta and in 43 total matches he has lost in straight sets only once–and that was in pair of tiebreakers to Nick Kyrgios in the 2016 final.
This is a rare instance in which Isner has to play a first-round match, as he is obviously unseeded and without a bye given his current ranking of No. 103. Awaiting him on Tuesday afternoon is Koepfer, who did not play in a single main-tour main draw this season until Wimbledon (lost in straight sets to Oscar Otte during first-round action). The 88th-ranked German can still be tricky for Isner with his left-handed game, but the University of Georgia product should not have too much trouble once again finding the win column in Atlanta.
Pick: Isner in 2
Maxime Cressy vs. (SE) Alex Michelsen
Like Isner (who would have gotten a wild card regardless), Michelsen earned a special exemption into the Atlanta by reaching the Newport semifinals last week. Michelsen actually made it all the way to the championship match, ousting Isner in the semis before succumbing to grass-court specialist Adrian Mannarino on Sunday. It was a remarkable ATP debut for the 18-year-old American, who has signed with the University of Georgia but is already up to 140th in the rankings and presumably will be taking his talents to the pro tour.
Michelsen’s first-round victory in Newport–and first-ever ATP win–came against none other than Cressy, whom the California native will run into again on Tuesday. Predictably, it was not easy on grass; Michelsen prevailed 6-7(5), 6-4, 7-5. Quick conditions on the hard courts of Atlanta will also be beneficial for each of these two big servers, so very few breaks of serve can be expected and another competitive contest is likely in the cards. The edge yet again goes to Michelsen, who is sky high on confidence whereas Cressy is a horrendous 8-18 on the main tour in 2023 and has fallen out of the top 100.
Pick: Michelsen in 3
WWW?
Big Dawg in 2; Cressy over little Dawg in 3.