Return to Atlanta
Just over a week after his wedding, Tipsarevic will get a bit of an Atlanta honeymoon, with his time freed up after crashing out of singles
Ryan Sweeting received a racquet abuse warning after failing to serve out the first set against Xavier Malisse at 6-5. Malisse broke back and easily won the tiebreak 7-1. Sweeting continued to talk to himself even after gaining a 3-1 lead in the second set. The American qualifier did not win another game and lost, 7-6(1), 6-3. At one point in the second set, Sweeting argued with the chair umpire over a ball he thought was out and even continued arguing during the changeover. Sweeting and Malisse played on Court 1 but only Stadium Court has the Hawk-Eye technology available to challenge line calls.
One Cool Moment
“It’s cool that a local Atlanta player was able to win a match,” said a spectator after Donald Young defeated Dudi Sela 7-5, 6-0. Sela was ahead 3-0 and up a double break in the first set. Young stayed cool and calm after coming back in the tight set and was able to keep his errors low in the second set. Young, one of the wildcard recipients for the Atlanta Tennis Championships, won only his second ATP World Tour match of the year. He was very positive, smiled a lot, and played like he was confident in his game. Not surprisingly, the crowd was squarely behind the Atlanta native.
Donald Young, who made the final of the Aptos Challenger last week, finally makes good on a wildcard entry
Lacking Confidence
James Blake was sidelined by a knee injury for the clay season this year and still has not won a match since his return. Blake’s body language during his first round match against Taylor Dent was very poor. He was constantly seen head down and sulking, even after he won the second set. Blake is now ranked outside of the Top 100 for the first time in almost five years. He said in his post-match interview that his knee feels “fine,” but that the lack of match play this year has affected his confidence in his game. Blake said he hopes he can continue to get more matches during this week pairing John Isner in doubles.
Going the Distance
On Court 2, both scheduled singles matches ended in a third-set tiebreak. Gilles Muller, the only qualifier to win today, defeated Michal Przysiezny, 6-4, 4-6, 7-6(4). Przysiezny has a very solid and consistent game with a nice one-handed backhand. In the second match on Court 2, Lukas Lacko defeated Igor Kunitsyn, 4-6, 7-6(4), 7-6(4).
Robby Ginepri defeated Australia's Nick Lindahl to advance to the Second Round
Match to Watch on Wednesday
The last match on Stadium Court on Wednesday will be an all-American encounter between Robby Ginepri and Mardy Fish. Fish won his fourth title in Newport last week, so his confidence is very high at the moment. Fish has had the better year of the two so far, but Ginepri leads their head-to-head 3-1 and is a long-time Atlanta-area resident, so look for the crowd to be on his side.
