ATLANTA, July 28, 2021 (From Press Release)
American Taylor Fritz, a Truist Atlanta Open finalist two years ago, began his 2021 campaign Tuesday afternoon with a 6-3, 6-4 victory against 154th-ranked Russian qualifier Evgeny Donskoy.
The No. 5 seed Fritz was one of three seeded players to advance to the second round of the ATP 250 hard court event at Atlantic Station in Midtown Atlanta.
Also advancing were five-time Truist Atlanta Open champion John Isner, seeded sixth, who fired 36 aces during a 6-4, 6-7 (3), 6-4 victory over fellow American, No. 151 J.J. Wolf, and No. 7 seed Benoit Paire of France, who defeated 120th-ranked Yasutaka Uchiyama of Japan, 7-5, 6-7 (2), 6-4.
The 42nd-ranked Fritz saved the only break point he faced while converting both of his break-point chances to advance against fellow American Steve Johnson, ranked 80th.
Other winners included: No. 78 Emil Ruusuvuori of Finland, who beat 106th-ranked American Mackenzie McDonald, 7-6 (3), 7-5; and 201st-ranked wild card Jack Sock, who bested No. 84 Ricardas Berankis of Lithuania, 6-7 (4), 6-4, 7-5.
Tuesday evening’s featured match featured 2016 Truist Atlanta Open champion Nick Kyrgios of Australia, who fought past recent Hall of Fame Open champion Kevin Anderson of South Africa, 7-6 (4), 6-3.
Kyrgios fired 15 aces and won 86 percent (36 of 42) of his first-serve points to advance against third seed Cameron Norrie of Great Britain, who won his first ATP Tour title in Los Cabos last weekend. Anderson finished with 10 aces and won 89 percent (25 of 28) of his first-serve points.
Our 2016 champ Nick Kyrgios delivers the excitement the Atlanta crowd stayed late night to see. He defeated Kevin Anderson 7-6, 6-3.#AtlantaOpen | #USOpenSeries | 🎟️ https://t.co/25RJdXp0UF | @NickKyrgios pic.twitter.com/kfoV4vICZX
— Truist Atlanta Open 🎾 (@ATLOpenTennis) July 28, 2021
“Kevin is no easy opponent, he’s a finalist at Grand Slams and he knows how to win matches,” Kyrgios said during an on-court interview following his victory. “His serve is one of the best in the world, so I knew today was going to be incredibly tough. I haven’t played too many matches, but I was serving well and I just love playing here in Atlanta.”
College Night in Atlanta
Trent Bryde, a University of Georgia junior who received a wild card into the main draw, headlined College Night at Atlantic Station. Bryde faced 115th-ranked Brandon Nakashima of the United States, who was a finalist last week at the Mifel Open in Los Cabos. To Bryde’s credit, he took the match to three sets before the more experienced Nakashima prevailed 6-1, 6-7 (5), 6-4. Next, the 19-year-old from San Diego, Calif., will face top seed Milos Raonic of Canada on Wednesday.
🇺🇸 Brandon Nakashima pulls out a win after a tough battle against @UGAtennis College Night player 🇺🇸Trent Bryde.
6-1, 6-7, 6-4#AtlantaOpen | #USOpenSeries pic.twitter.com/ZgWxuWLkNc
— Truist Atlanta Open 🎾 (@ATLOpenTennis) July 28, 2021
RESULTS – JULY 27, 2021
Men’s Singles – First Round
[5] T. Fritz (USA) d [Q] E. Donskoy (RUS) 63 64
[6] J. Isner (USA) d [PR] J. Wolf (USA) 64 67(3) 64
[7] B. Paire (FRA) d Y. Uchiyama (JPN) 75 67(2) 64
[SE] B. Nakashima (USA) d [WC] T. Bryde (USA) 61 67(5) 64
N. Kyrgios (AUS) d K. Anderson (RSA) 76(4) 63
E. Ruusuvuori (FIN) d M. McDonald (USA) 76(3) 75
[WC] J. Sock (USA) d R. Berankis (LTU) 67(4) 64 75
[Q] C. O’Connell (AUS) d D. Kudla (USA) 46 63 63
Men’s Doubles – First Round
S. Johnson (USA) / J. Thompson (AUS) d N. Lammons (USA) / J. Withrow (USA) 64 75
