Atlanta Tennis Championships Sunday's Qualifying Matches

The tennis gets kicked up a notch on Sunday as the second round of qualifying is played.

All the top seeds in qualifying are in action along with Saturday's winners.

Pay special attention to the first qualifying on Stadium as Nicolas Massu takes on Rajeev Ram.  Massu was sloppy and erratic on Saturday against GA Tech player Kevin King.  Ram has points to defend from his play here in 2010.  Look for a spirited match.

Here are Sunday's matches.

Nicolas MASSU (CHI) vs. Rajeev RAM (USA)
Austin SMITH (USA) vs. Denis KUDLA (USA)
Tim SMYCZEK (USA) vs. Gabriel TOWNES (USA)  
Olivier SAJOUS (HAI) vs. Wil SPENCER (USA)
Phillip SIMMONDS (USA) vs. Greg JONES (AUS)
Marinko MATOSEVIC (AUS) vs. Mac STYSLINGER (USA)
Matthew EBDEN (AUS) vs. Daniel KOSAKOWSKI (USA)
Yuichi SUGITA (JAP) vs. Haydn LEWIS (BAR)

Photos from Atlanta Tennis Championships Qualifying Day 1

Not too much drama in Satuday's qualifying action, but Sunday looks much better.

Kudos to University of Georgia and Georgia Tech players who played well and put up some good fights today against some veteran pro players.

Here are today's shots:

Nick Lindahl of Australia

Nick LindahlOne of University of Georgia player Wil Spencer

The Stadium Court

Former top-10 player and Olympic gold medalist Nicolas Massu

Nicolas MassuMassu

Georgia Tech player Kevin King

American Denis Kudla

Denis KudlaBritish Davis Cupper, Colin Fleming

Colin Fleming

Atlanta Tennis Championships Qualifying Saturday Order of Play

Qualifying play begins at 10 a.m. sharp today (Saturday) at the Racquet Club of the South in Norcross, GA for the 2011 Atlanta Tennis Championships.

Notable names in action today include young American Denis Kudla, former top-10 player Nicolas Massu and college players from the University of Georgia and Georgia Tech.

ORDER OF PLAY – SATURDAY, JULY 16, 2011
CENTER COURT start 10:00 am
Qualifying – [WC] W Spencer (USA) vs N Lindahl (AUS)
Qualifying – N Massu (CHI) vs [WC] K King (USA)
Qualifying – C Fleming (GBR) vs D Kudla (USA)
Qualifying – J Anton (USA) vs [WC] M Spyslinger (USA)
COURT 1 start 10:00 am
Qualifying – H Lewis (BAR) vs [WC] D Bernstein (USA)
Qualifying – [WC] G Gomez (ESP vs P Simmonds (USA)
Qualifying – [WC] G Townes (USA) vs E Graves (USA)
COURT 2 start 10:00 am
Qualifying – O Sajous (HAI) vs A Krywacz (BRA)
Qualifying – K Lejnieks (LAT) vs D Kosakowski (USA)
Qualifying – A Smith (USA) vs N Schnugg (USA)

Atlanta Tennis Championships Doubles Entry List Released

A sixteen team doubles draw will also be contested at the Atlanta Tennis Championships.

The initial entry list was released today.

1 Lipsky, Scott (USA)/Ram, Rajeev (USA) 68
2 Melo, Marcelo (BRA)/Murray, Jamie (GBR) 80
3 Erlich, Jonathan (ISR)/Ram, Andy (ISR) 97
4 Blake, James (USA)/Isner, John (USA) 119
5 Fleming, Colin (GBR)/Hutchins, Ross (GBR) 124
6 Dimitrov, Grigor (BUL)/Sweeting, Ryan (USA) 125
7 Lu, Yen-Hsun (TPE)/Nishikori, Kei (JPN) 134
8 Devvarman, Somdev (IND)/Huey, Treat Conrad (PHI) 153
9 Fisher, Ashley (AUS)/Huss, Stephen (AUS) 172
10 Bachinger, Matthias (GER)/Moser, Frank (GER) 177

WC - King, Kevin / Bernstein, Drake  (College players from Georgia Tech and Georgia)

Notes on the field:  Lipsky/Ram are having a good 2011.  Murray is coming to Atlanta, Jamie Murray that is.  Blake and Isner teaming up again, they reached the semi's last year.  Fleming and Hutchins are coming off a good Wimbledon showing.

Wimbledon Day 1 Match of the Day: Riske vs. Zvonareva

A Court 1 match where the #2 seed could find herself in trouble.

While the Russian, Zvonareva is a decent player on grass, it's Riske's best surface.  A strong start from the American, Riske could pose problems for an emotional Zvonareva.

The two have never played before, but I expect a close see-saw match with Riske pulling out the upset in the end.

Three close sets with Riske winning the third 7-5.  The biggest upset of Day 1.