After more than a decade of competing together in ATP World Tour doubles events, Thai twins Sanchai Ratiwatana and Sonchat Ratiwatana found themselves battling against each other on Thursday at the BB&T Atlanta Open. The Ratiwatana brothers didn't play together in Atlanta because their combined Emirates ATP Doubles Ranking would have left them outside the cut to make the Atlanta doubles draw. By playing with other players, though, both brothers were able to compete in main draw action. Sanchai and John Millman moved into the semi-finals over Sonchat and Aisam-Ul-Haq Qureshi 6-2, 6-4. The brothers had squared off only once before, at an ATP Challenger Tour event in Cremona in July 2011. Sanchai (w/Mektic) also came out on top in...
College tennis star Christopher Eubanks is enjoying his best summer ever with a dream week in his hometown at the BB&T Atlanta Open. The rising senior at Georgia Tech reached his first ATP World Tour quarter-final on Thursday night by defeating eighth seed and #NextGenATP American Jared Donaldson 6-4, 4-6, 6-2. Eubanks rushed to a 3-0 lead in the deciding set and took the match after a pair of double faults from Donaldson wrapped up the contest. He then took a lap around the court and high-fived the fans to celebrate his victory. Eubanks, currently No. 461 in the Emirates ATP Rankings, is competing in just his fifth pro event of 2017 due to a hectic college tennis schedule. He...
Fifth seed Kyle Edmund moved into this third ATP World Tour quarter-final of the season on Thursday at the BB&T Atlanta Open, rallying from a set down to defeat the red-hot Peter Gojowczyk 2-6, 6-4, 7-5. "I was really pleased to get through that," said Edmund. "He was hitting really cleanly in the first set and I wasn't able to get into many points. I've been in Atlanta quite awhile to get used to the conditions, so it's nice to get wins under your belt and get some momentum for the rest of this hard-court swing." Gojowczyk, a semi-finalist last week in Newport, led by a break at 3-2 in the deciding set, but Edmund fought back to prevail after...
William Blumberg may have the coolest summer job out of all his friends at the University of North Carolina. The rising sophomore is taking his first steps in pro events and has already enjoyed success on the ATP Challenger Tour. In just his fourth pro tournament and his first Challenger, Blumberg is through to the quarter-finals of the $75,000 event in Binghamton. The 19 year old made full use of his main draw wild card by defeating sixth seed Denis Kudla in straight sets on Wednesday to reach the last eight. “It means a lot. I’ve been practising hard and playing really good this summer, so it’s nice to see all the hard work paying off,” said Blumberg. “A lot...
John Isner learns the tricks of the Harlem Globetrotters from Kris Hi-Lite Bruton and teaches Bruton some tennis skills at the BB&T Atlanta Open. Photo: Alex Smith.