BB&T Atlanta Open 2015: Friday Tennis Scores, Results and Updated Draw Schedule
Joe Pantorno@@JoePantorno
Featured ColumnistAugust 1, 2015
The BB&T Atlanta Open semifinals are set for both the singles and doubles tournament after six matches on Friday.
Andy Roddick and Mardy Fish, the biggest pairing of the Atlanta Open, competed for their chance among the last four as their match was the cherry on top of the day in the Peach State.
Here is a look at Friday's results and a look ahead at Saturday's schedule.
| 2015 BB&T Atlanta Open: Friday Results | ||
| Winner | Loser | Score |
| John Isner | Ricardas Berankis | 7-6, 6-4 |
| Denis Kudla | Dudi Sela | 7-5, 6-0 |
| Christopher Eubanks, Donald Young | Austin Krajicek, Nicholas Monroe | 4-6, 7-6, 10-2 |
| Gilles Muller | Go Soeda | 7-5, 6-1 |
| Marcos Baghdatis | Vasek Pospisil | 6-4, 7-6 |
| Eric Butorac, Artem Sitak | Mardy Fish, Andy Roddick | 7-5, 6-2 |
| BBTAtlantaOpen.com | ||
| 2015 BB&T Atlanta Open: Saturday Schedule | ||
| Player | Player | Time (ET) |
| Bob Bryan, Mike Bryan | Christopher Eubanks, Donald Young | 1 p.m. |
| John Isner | Denis Kudla | Not before 4 p.m. |
| Gilles Muller | Marcos Baghdatis | Not before 8 p.m. |
| Eric Butorac, Artem Sitak | Colin Fleming, Gilles Muller | Following |
| BBTAtlantaOpen.com | ||
Roddick and Fish were eliminated from the Atlanta Open on the final match of Friday night, losing to Eric Butorac and Artem Sitak 7-5, 6-2.
The loss ends the unexpected pair's tournament run. Roddick came out of retirement to join Fish, who will be retiring after the U.S. Open, which begins on August 31.
Butorac and Sitak did well against both the Fish and Roddick serves, winning 20 of 53 return points to help them dominate all facets of the match, including a 79 percent success rate on their first-service opportunities.
The man who beat Fish in the first round of the singles competition at the Atlanta Open, Dudi Sela, is out after Denis Kudla handed him a straight-sets quarterfinal defeat, 7-5, 6-0.
With Kudla performing well on his first serve, winning 75 percent of those opportunities, his return game was up to snuff, too. Kudla won 16 of 33 first-return points and 13 of 23 second-return points.
Kudla will face the tournament's top seed John Isner, who defeated Ricardas Berankis in straight sets 7-6, 6-4. The New York Times' Ben Rothenberg pointed out that the tournament is ensured a heavy American influence in the semifinals:
The Isner-Berankis match was dominated by the serve, as the two combined for 29 aces—Isner with 19 and Berankis with 10. Both players won over 84 percent of their first-service points, as the match boiled down to who could fare better on the return.
And that man was Isner, not by much, though, as he won 22 percent of his return points, compared to Berankis' 20. As noted earlier, Isner will take on Kudla in Saturday's second match of the afternoon, with play beginning at 2 p.m. With four matches on the day's slate, the Atlanta Open will find out its finalists by Saturday's end.
Stats courtesy of BBTAtlantaOpen.com