ATP ATLANTA 2024 PREVIEW
I don’t usually preview 250 events but there’s no 500 or 1000 events on this week. We have clay tournaments in Croatia, Austria, Romania and Czechia (Chech Republic), but I’m going to concentrate on the first hard court event since March and head to the USA and the great city of Atlanta.
Atlanta, situated in the south-east of the United States, just north of Florida, might not strike you as a sporting giant but it’s home to the Falcons, Braves, Hawks, Dream, and the mighty Atlanta United F.C.
The Atlanta Open has been played since 2010 and has been dominated by home players. John Isner is a six-time champion here and runner-up 3 times. Mardy Fish won the first 2 events in 2010 and 2011, and Taylor Fritz is the current champion having defeated Australian Alexander Vukic in the 2023 final. The only other nation to have secured victory at this event is Australia with Nick Kyrgios beating John Isner in 2016 and Alex de Minaur winning in 2019 (d. Fritz) and 2022 (d. Brooksby).
Our current champion will not be participating this year so let’s take a look at the draw to see who the favourites are in 2024.
Ben Shelton is the top seed in Atlanta and gets a bye in round one. His opponent in the second round could be fellow American Andres Martin who has been given a wildcard for the event. The other side of Shelton’s quarter sees David Goffin take on Denis Shapovalov while fellow Australians Max Purcell (seeded 8) and Christopher O’ Connell face each in two very competitive matches to decide who meets in the second round. While Purcell and Shapovalov are the favourites, don’t under-estimate their opponents who are extremely capable on their day.
The second quarter is led by another Australian and 4th seed Jordan Thompson. He gets a bye in round one and will meet Borna Coric or Thanasi Kokkinakis in round 2. American Reilly Opelka takes on countryman Aleksandar Kovacevic in the first round and will meet Arthur Cazaux or Alejandro Davidovich Fokina (seeded 5) in the second. It will be interesting to see how the resurgent Opelka plays on the hard courts after some impressive performances on grass in Newport.
Frances Tiafoe is the No. 3 seed in Atlanta and gets a bye in the first round. He will likely run into the broadly inconsistent Aslan Karatsev in round 2. Another All-American clash will see Brandon Nakashima (seeded 7) try to get past Mackenzie McDonald who he hasn’t beaten in their last 3 competitive meetings. On these fast hard courts, Tiafoe will be favourite but if Karatsev can find any rhythm he could cause issues for the Americans who dominate this quarter.
There are 4 French players in the draw and 3 of them are drawn in the same quarter. Adrian Mannarino is the top seed in the quarter, and like the other 3 seeds in other quarters, gets a bye in the first round. Mannarino will likely play last years finalist Vukic in the second round in what would be a hugely entertaining encounter. Constant Lestienne and Arthur Rinderknech will be looking to get their hard court seasons off to a positive start where Rinderknech will look to stretch out his 4-1 h2h lead over Lestienne. Miomir Kecmanovic or Lloyd Harris will meet the winner of that match in what looks like an open quarter.
Betfair Outright Market: https://www.betfair.com/exchange/plus/tennis/market/1.230925684
Ben Shelton starts as favourite at 3.3 but there's little value there and he will be hard pressed to win his quarter final given the quality of opposition.
Davidovich Fokina looks a good bet at 11 on the exchange. He has a decent chance at a semi final here so I can see his odds drop quickly by Friday.
Tiafoe will be hard to beat on home soil and is second favourite ae 5.9. His draw is favourable and he's likely to meet Mannarino in the semis.
A final for Davidovich Fokina where he will meet Tiafoe who will carry on the tradition of home winners in Atlanta.