Atlanta Open ATP 250

[stroke]

This is looking like a very interesting tournament. Chris Eubanks is the number 5 seed, and it will be very interesting to see how he fares after his Wimbledon coming out party. Notable entries, Fritz(and Morgan) number 1 seed, demon # 2. Evans 3. Sheldon 6. Isner floating. And of course Mickelsen.

[jimlosaltos]

First ATP win in eons for Kei Nishikori after hip surgery over Jordan Thompson in two tiebreaks.
Kei was working his way up in the Challengers. Last won a title at Brisbane in 2019.
.
{Meanwhile, Thiem is playing in an Umag challenger. Hasn't had a title since he won the US Open in 2020, still trying to get back form after wrist injury }

[stroke]

Eubanks looked great in his 1st round win. He plays Nakashima tonight. Should be a good test for him.

[jimlosaltos]

Nishikori on his motivation: "“One thing I hope to get the chance to do is to play against these great young players like Alcaraz, Rune and Sinner at some point,” he said. “That’s part of my motivation to try to play for a few more years.

[stroke]

Eubanks has the buzz, but the oddsmakers are not yet swayed. Nakashima is the slight favorite.

[stroke]

Chris keeps in going, great win over Nakashima. Chris is definitely a big threat to win this tournament. Fritz(and Morgan) still the favorite no doubt, but Chris is right there.

[don_budge]

Some good stuff from Eubanks. Some really good stuff. Let's see if he can really get his teeth into this tournament now against his next opponent...an old nemesis. Aleksandar Vukic. A win against Vukic not only gets him into the semis, but would be a huge confidence booster given their history. I like the Nakashima platform stance.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hsro9ecvX44

[stroke]

Oddsmakers have Eubanks as the favorite with an implied probability of winning at about 62%. Bettors could have won a lot of money backing Chris lately in a lot of matches when he was the underdog. His odds are trending toward the favorite.

[don_budge]

https://www.atptour.com/en/players/christopher-eubanks/e865/player-activity

Yep...or rather nope. Not to be. Aleksandar Vukic once again proves to be the worthy nemesis to Christopher Eubanks. I almost wanted to include Eubanks in the Michelsen American Future thread, but now I believe that it was intelligent not to. Not for having high hopes for this player, but based on some facts and observations.

At this point in career at 27 years old, Eubanks has earned more money playing doubles than singles. Not necessarily a bad omen either. But at 6' 7" he makes a rather large target for anyone that can return his huge serve and force him to engage from the backcourt. While he has an explosive forehand the question becomes is it more explosive that consistently reliable over the course of a match. A season. A career. Once engaged in a rally a smart opponent is going to do everything they can to exploit the backhand which appears to be the weaker link in the chain that is the Eubanks tennis game.

I watched the first four or five games late last night here in Sweden, out of abundance of curiosity, and it appeared to me that Vukic is such a player that is going to give Eubanks trouble day in and day out. Vukic appears to have gone to great lengths to follow Christopher to the ends of the earth to give him trouble...all kinds of trouble. For instance...Eubanks beat Vukic in the qualifier in Del Ray only to have Vukic get into the tournament as a lucky loser and beat Eubanks in the main draw.

At 27 years old Eubanks is 25-34 total win loss for his career. That isn't many matches at the ATP tour level. He is still somewhat an unproven entity. This year he is 16-10 with a 9-3 record on grass...6-6 on hardcourts. Obviously he has a bigger advantage on grass. Given his record so far it doesn't appear to me that it is a given for him to advance in the rankings much higher than where he is at. The long term prognosis is a little more cloudy as well. Last night it was obvious that once he is engaged in a rally...the longer that rally ensues the more he looks vulnerable. So at his height he is a bit of a fish out of water playing against the prototypical modern baseliner, grind it out player. He will be more susceptible to injury...I think.

So it will be interesting going forwards to see how he fares. He was stopped in the quarterfinals in this rather low level in comparison ATP event. How will he do at the bigger venues on slower surfaces? If Eubanks had been a player back in the day of three Grand Slam events played on grass courts he might have a better chance of eating his way up the food chain. As it is...it will be one bite at a time.

[stroke]

It was a very interesting match. I have watched most all of Eubanks matches, particularly since his hot run in Mallorca, and this was to me the first opponent he has faced where I felt the proceedings were not really all on Chris' racquet. Vukic was just so comfortable and unbothered by Eubank's pace, and he also returned very well. I still look for Chris to make noise during this upcoming hard court season. He has obviously had a meteoric rise this year, and I see more upside for him. I did really want to see him in the Final vs Taylor and Morgan.

[don_budge]

Bottom line...the jury is still out on Christopher Eubanks with regard to his potential impact on the professional game in general. On grass...he is a going to be a legitimate threat in any given match.

[jimlosaltos]

Taylor Fritz gets his first win vs 3 losses against Kei Nishikori, who is playing his first ATP matches since hip surgery.

Tennis TV has a sort of memorial set of Kei's biggest matches titled "Welcome Back Kei Nishikori!", featuring past Federer, Nadal, Tsonga, and break matches for the tour's first victory. Although there is no thrilling match against Nadal in Rio or against Djokovic in USO who bought an eternal grudge.

filedata/fetch?id=101717&d=1690649016&type=thumb

[stroke]

Taylor was the favorite to win this tournament from the beginning, and he is still the favorite.