The 2016 edition of the BB&T Atlanta Open – held in one of the odder and less conventional tennis facilities anywhere on the ATP Tour – runs during the first weekend of the Rio Olympics. It’s not going to get a lot of publicity, which might be just the thing for a bunch of players who can perform in a relatively quiet environment without a lot of media scrutiny. This tournament could be a kick-start for a big month of August, heading into other North American tour stops in the latter part of summer.
The competition in the 28-player main draw begins on Monday, August 1.
Event Details
Event: BB&T Atlanta Open
Category: ATP World Tour – 250 Series
Date: August 1-7, 2016
Location: Atlanta Station – Atlanta, Georgia
With a prize money allotment of $618,000 there will be a decent chunk of change available for the relatively small field which will compete in this tournament while the Olympic Games get underway in Brazil. The top four seeds get byes in this event, so they’ll have a chance to make relatively decent money for winning three matches (which would mean a trip to the finals) against a weak field. While the stars for various nations compete in the Olympics, second- or third-level players can polish their hardcourt games before the Cincinnati Masters, the main lead-up to the 2016 U.S. Open in New York, which starts at the very end of August.
The points structure under the ATP system is that the championship means 250 points. A runner-up finish is worth 150. A semifinal result is 90 points, and a quarterfinal appearance offers 45 points.
Former Champions and Results (5 Years)
Year Champion Runner-up Score
2015 – John Isner d. Marcos Baghdatis – 6-3, 6-3
2014 – John Isner def. Dudi Sela – 6-3, 6-4
2013 – John Isner def. Kevin Anderson – 6-7, 7-6, 7-6
2012 – Andy Roddick def. Gilles Muller – 1-6, 7-6, 6-2
2011 – Mardy Fish def. John Isner – 3-6, 7-6, 6-2
Player Info:
It’s not a terribly deep field in Atlanta, but the top two seeds will get packed crowds in the Southeastern United States. John Isner, who has won this tournament three years in a row, does well here partly because of the quality of the field, but also because he’s from the University of Georgia. It’s important to him to win this tournament and give supportive crowds what they want. Isner is always going to be the player most fans cheer for in Atlanta. What’s key to know here from a betting perspective is that he’s played very well of late. He’s 19-13 on the year and has earned just over $650,000.
The other headliner is second-seeded Nick Kyrgios, who has struggled a lot in recent weeks. He lost early in Toronto at the Canada Masters, and he is a player who is trying to figure out how to bust through his slump. However, given the field, he’s more than capable of winning this event if he finds that level of consistency. That’s always a challenge for him. Kevin Anderson is the third seed. He had an encouraging Canada run to the quarterfinals and will try to build on that here. However, he has been pretty lousy so far this season overall. He is just 4-5 on the hard courts and 8-12 overall. The fourth and final first-round bye goes to fourth-seeded Alexandr Dolgopolov. He’s been so-so this season. He’s 17-13 on the year overall and is 9-7 on the hard courts.
Rounding out the fifth through eighth seeds are Fernando Verdasco, Guillermo Garcia-Lopez, Donald Young, and Taylor Fritz. Verdasco is a known name but he’s more of a clay-court specialist. He’s 6-4 on hard courts this year but was 9-10 on them last year.
Atlanta Station
The 2016 staging of the BB&T Open will occur in this makeshift facility, which supplanted the Atlanta Racquet Club and the Racquet Club of the South (two previous facilities) as the new home of this ATP 250 tournament. Atlanta Station is not a well-established tennis complex. It is instead a collection of temporary tennis courts carved into a larger shopping and retail district in midtown Atlanta. These are not permanent courts. The space for the tournament is prepared in the weeks leading up to the event, and it does not remain in place afterward. The central court for this tournament seats 4,000 people.
