Where: Atlantic Station, 1380 Atlantic Dr NW, Atlanta, Ga.
When: July 20-28, 2019
Defending champions: John Isner (singles); Nicholas Monroe and John-Patrick Smith (doubles)
Tournament website: https://www.bbtatlantaopen.com/
History
The BB&T Atlanta Open will serve as the first stop on the US Open Series calendar again in 2019.
The tournament was originally held in Indianapolis between 1988 and 2009 and moved to Atlanta after the USTA and USTA Southern section bought the rights to the event.
Americans have dominated the tournament since its move to Georgia, winning eight of the nine singles titles. Four of the finals have been all-American affairs, including the last two years, when John Isner beat Ryan Harrison for the championship in both finales.
The BB&T Atlanta Open has been Isner’s personal playground. In the nine years that the event has been played in Atlanta, Isner has played in eight finals.
2018 Recap
Top seed Isner dominated the field once again, winning his fifth title at Atlantic Station and running his overall BB&T record to an impressive 31-4.
After an opening win against Alex de Minaur, Isner completed a trio of three-set victories to seize the championship, defeating seeds Mischa Zverev, Matthew Ebden and Harrison in consecutive matches.
No. 2 seed Nick Kyrgios fell to former TCU collegiate standout Cam Norrie in the quarterfinals, with third-seeded Hyeon Chung going out to Harrison at the same stage.
In the doubles competition, Monroe and Smith needed three match tiebreaks to claim the crown, including in the final against the second-seeded all-American pairing of Harrison and Rajeev Ram.
2019 Preview
Isner remains the man to beat, as Atlanta again kicks off the US Open Series. Harrison has found success here in the past with a pair of runner-up finishes and two other trips to the semifinals, and fellow American Frances Tiafoe will also like his chances of a deep run in his fifth time competing at the event.
The 2019 edition of the tournament will also feature the first appearance of fast-rising Canadian teenager Felix Auger-Aliassime, who is currently ranked No. 21 in the ATP rankings, No. 23 Diego Schwartzman of Argentina, who will be making his Atlanta debut, and Aussie de Minaur, who will return to compete at the BB&T Atlanta Open again this year. The Bryan brothers have also committed to playing the event, as they prepare for another deep run at the US Open later this summer.
In 2018, eight players inside the Top 60 played in the event. In previous years, the tournament has drawn top names, including 2003 US Open champion and former world No. 1 Andy Roddick, two-time Grand Slam champion Lleyton Hewitt, 2017 US Open men’s finalist Kevin Anderson, Olympian Mardy Fish and former world No. 3 Grigor Dimitrov.
Two top American women will also wow the crowds in an exhibition on Sunday afternoon, when Venus Williams plays Madison Keys.
Fun Fact
Isner has won 23 of his past 24 matches in Atlanta. In addition to five titles, he also reached the final his first two years competing at Atlantic Station, losing each to Fish in three sets after winning the opener. He holds a number of Atlanta Open records, including wins (31), finals (eight), titles (five) and consecutive titles (three).