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Home , Atlanta Open (tennis), Denis Kudla, Donald Young (tennis)

BB&T OPEN: DAY 6 MEDIA NOTES Saturday, August 1, 2015

Atlantic Station, Atlanta, , USA | July 27 – August 2, 2015 Draw: S-28, D-16 | Prize Money: $659,700 | Surface: Hard

ATP Info: Tournament Info: ATP PR & Marketing: www.ATPWorldTour.com www.bbtatlantaopen.com Twitter: @ATPWorldTour Twitter: @BBTatlantaopen Greg Sharko: [email protected] facebook.com/ATPWorldTour facebook.com/BBTAtlOpen Press Room: +1 678 954 4265

FRIENDS MEET FOR FIRST TIME ON ATP WORLD TOUR IN SEMI-FINALS

 Day 6: Both semi-finals on Saturday at the BB&T are first-time meetings. The first semi-final features the two-time defending champion and qualifier . Although Isner-Kudla have never met, they have practiced with each other at Saddlebrook in Tampa quite a bit. Kudla moved to Saddlebrook after Roland Garros. The other semi-final pits Cypriot No. 5 seed vs. No. 7 seed Gilles Muller of Luxembourg. They have never played as pros but they trained together at the Bob Brett Academy in Paris as juniors. They also split two junior meetings in 2001 (Baghdatis won 64 46 64 in Osaka QF; Muller won 63 36 64 in Paraguay SF).

 Closing in On Three-Peat: Former Univ. of Georgia standout John Isner extended his current winning streak here to 10 in a row with a 76(5) 64 win over Ricardas Berankis on Friday. He is playing here for the sixth consecutive year (reaching SFs-better), the fourth year in a row as the top seed. The 30-year-old American has an 18-3 career record in Atlanta, winning the title the last two years (d. Anderson in three TBs in ’13, Sela last year). He also reached the final in 2010-11 (l. to Fish both times) and the semi-finals in ’12. He has won 12 of 13 tie-break sets here since 2012.

 30 & Over Success: Three of the semi-finalists are 30 & over, led by Muller (32), who reached his last ATP World Tour final here in 2012. The others are 30 years old Baghdatis and Isner. One of the three is trying to add their name to the list of the 15 ATP World Tour winners 30 & over in 2015:

Roger Federer, Brisbane 33 yrs, 4 months , Doha 32 yrs, 8 months Victor Estrella Burgos, Quito 34 yrs, 6 months Guillermo Garcia-Lopez, Zagreb 31 yrs, 8 months Ivo Karlovic, Delray Beach 35 yrs, 11 months , Marseille 30 yrs, 2 months , Dubai 33 yrs, 5 months David Ferrer, Rio de Janeiro 32 yrs. 10 months David Ferrer, Acapulco 32 yrs, 10 months Guillermo Garcia-Lopez, Bucharest 31 yrs, 10 months Roger Federer, Istanbul 33 yrs., 8 months , Roland Garros 30 yrs., 2 months , ‘s-Hertogenbosch 33 yrs., 4 months Roger Federer, Halle 33 yrs., 10 months , Newport 31 yrs., 4 months

 First-Time ATP Winners: Kudla and Muller are attempting to become the 7th or 8th first-time winner on the ATP World Tour. Note: Qualifier (No. 85) is playing in the SFs in Hamburg). Last Sunday, Benoit Paire became the 6th first-time winner on the ATP World Tour this yr. (d. Robredo) in Bastad. Three of the first time winners were born in the 1990s: Age Tournament Jiri Vesely 21 Auckland 21 Nice Victor Estrella Burgos 34 Quito Denis Istomin 28 Nottingham 22 Houston Benoit Paire 26 Bastad BB&T Atlanta Open Day 6 – Saturday, August 1, 2015 Page 2 of 5 www.ATPWorldTour.com

 Outside Top 50 Winners (8): Qualifier Kudla, who is currently No. 94 in the Emirates ATP Rankings, and Muller, who is No. 52, are both attempting to become the 9th or 10th player outside the Top 50 to win a title. Kudla is also attempting to become the 7th or 8th qualifier to reach an ATP World Tour final this year. (Note: qualifier Lucas Pouille (No. 85) is playing in the semi-finals at Hamburg). Here are the outside the Top 50 winners:

Rajeev Ram, Newport No. 161 Nicolas Mahut (Q), ‘s-Hertogenbosch No. 97 Denis Istomin, Nottingham No. 92 (Q), Sydney No. 92 Victor Estrella Burgos, Quito No. 73 Jiri Vesely (Q), Auckland No. 63 Benoit Paire, Bastad No. 62 Thomaz Bellucci, Geneva No. 60

Note: Qualifiers are 3-3 in finals this year. Finalists: Aljaz Bedene (Chennai), Mikhail Kukushkin (Sydney), Luca Vanni (Sao Paulo).

 Marcos Eyes 1st Final Since 2011: The 30-year-old Baghdatis is appearing in his third ATP World Tour SF of the year (0-2 record) and first in the United States since 2010 ATP Masters 1000 Cincinnati (l. to Federer). He is looking to reach his 12th career ATP World Tour final (4-7 record, 3-5 on hard) and first since reaching the final at 2011 Kuala Lumpur (l. to Tipsarevic). The last title he won was in Sydney in 2010 (d. Gasquet). Since winning his last title in 2010 he has a 3-11 record in semi-final matches. He’s also lost his last seven semi-finals. Here are his SF-better results:

2010 Dubai (l. to Djokovic) 2012 Sydney (l. to Benneteau) 2010 Munich (l. to Cilic) 2012 Zagreb (l. to Lacko) 2010 Washington (d. Malisse, l. to Nalbandian) 2012 Tokyo (l. to Nishikori) 2010 Cincinati (l. to Federer) 2012 Stockholm (l. to Tsonga) 2010 Moscow (d. Istomin, l. to Troicki) 2012 Brisbane (l. to Dimitrov) 2011 ‘s-Hertogenbosch (l. to Dodig) 2015 Zagreb (l. t0 Garcia-Lopez) 2011 Kuala Lumpur (d. Troicki, l. to Tipsarevic) 2015 Nottingham (l. to Istomin)

 Looking Ahead: Isner and Baghdatis are the only semi-finalists to have won an ATP World Tour title. Here is a look at all four players career records in ATP World Tour finals:

Player Career Finals Record Isner 9-9 (6-7 on hard) Kudla 0-0 Note: Winner will try to become third American ATP World Tour champion this year: Sock (Houston), Ram (Newport)

Muller 0-3 (0-3 on hard) Baghdatis 4-7 (3-5 on hard)

 Doubles SF: In the first doubles semi-finals the top seeds Bob and face the American wild card tandem of and . They have won a record 106 career titles and finished No. 1 in 10 of the past 12 years. This season the Bryans have won three titles (Delray Beach, ATP Masters 1000 Miami, Monte-Carlo) and reached the final at Roland Garros. They are No. 3 in the Emirates ATP Doubles Team Rankings. The 19-year-old Eubanks, of Atlanta, is a sophomore at Georgia Tech and he’s never played a pro tournament at any level before this week. The 26-year-old Young is looking to reach his second career ATP World Tour doubles final. Earlier this year he reached the final at Memphis w/Sitak (l. to Fyrstenberg / Gonzalez.

BB&T Atlanta Open Day 6 – Saturday, August 1, 2015 Page 3 of 5 www.ATPWorldTour.com

SATURDAY FEDEX ATP HEAD 2 HEADS – In Order of Play

Stadium

(1) John Isner (USA) vs (Q) Denis Kudla (USA) First Meeting

Isner FastFacts: 2015 Highlights: SF(2): ATP World Tour Masters 1000 Miami (l Djokovic); Nice (l Thiem); QF(3): Memphis (l Querrey); ATP World Tour Masters 1000 Madrid (l Berdych); London / Queen's Club (l Troicki) YTD W-L: 25-16 (11-7 on hard) YTD Titles: 0 / Career Titles: 9 Date of Birth: April 26, 1985 Emirates ATP Ranking: 19 Atlanta W-L (Best Result-Year): 18-3 (Winner 2013-14)

 The 30-year-old American advanced to the SF with a 76(5) 64 win over Ricardas Berankis on Friday. He hit a career-high 33 aces in a two-set match with a 76(3) 76(7) win over Radek Stepanek on Thursday. Leads tournament with 52 aces and has held 21 of 23 service games, saving eight of 10 break pts.  It was the sixth time he has hit 30+ aces this year. He is playing here sixth consecutive year (also in SFs-better), the fourth year in a row as the top seed. He has an 18-3 career record in Atlanta, winning the title the last two years (d. Anderson in three TBs in ’13, Sela last year). He also reached the final in 2010-11 (l. to Fish both times) and the semi-finals in ’12. Has won 13 of 14 tie-breaks since ‘12  The No. 1 American is appearing in his 3rd ATP World Tour SF of the year (0-2record). Highlighted by reaching his first career ATP Masters 1000 SF at Miami (l. to eventual champion Djokovic). Also reached SF at Nice (l. to eventual champion Thiem)  Looking to reach his 19th career ATP World Tour final (9-9 record, 6-7 on hard) and first since capturing ninth career title here last year  Reached QF at ATP Masters 1000 Madrid (l. to Berdych). He became first American to reach a clay court ATP Masters 1000 QF since Roddick at 2008 Madrid  In play (5-3 record), reached 3R at (l. to Muller) and Wimbledon (l.to Cilic), fell in 2R at Roland Garros (l. to Seppi)

Kudla FastFacts: 2015 Highlights: YTD W-L: 8-7 (5-5 on hard) YTD Titles: 0 / Career Titles: 0 Date of Birth: August 17, 1992 Emirates ATP Ranking: 94 Atlanta W-L (Best Result-Year): 3-1 (SF 2015)

 The 22-year-old American, the youngest and lowest-ranked player left (94), has won five matches so far (two in qualifying). He advanced to the SFs with a 75 60 win over on Friday. On Thursday, he saved eight of 10 break pts. to upset No.3 seed Jack Sock 76(6) 63 to reach his first ATP World Tour QF of the year. Opened with a 36 64 76(5) win over countryman on Tuesday. He fell in the 1R in his tournament main draw debut in 2013 (l. to Williams), fell in qualifying in 2011 (l. to Matosevic in Q1). He has a 3-1 tournament record  He is first qualifier to reach the SF here since the tournament moved back to summer of 2010  No. 2 in return games won this week (36%, 13 of 36), converting 13 of 23 break pts. (57%)  Appearing in his first career ATP World Tour SF (after QF efforts in ’11 Newport, ’13 Queen’s)  As a wild card, beat Cuevas, Zverev and Giraldo en route to Wimbledon 4R (l. to Cilic); was the first American to reach the Wimbledon 4R since 2012 (Baker & Fish). Afterwards climbed from 105 to 97. First broke Top 100 on July 8, 2013 at No. 90 (also career-high) BB&T Atlanta Open Day 6 – Saturday, August 1, 2015 Page 4 of 5 www.ATPWorldTour.com

 Prior to Wimbledon reached back-to-back grass court Challengers finals. He captured his 5th career Challenger title at Ilkley (d. Ebden) and the week before reached final at Surbiton (l. to Ebden). Has a career 92-59 Challenger record (16-8 in 2015) with five titles in eight finals  In Grand Slam play (3-2 record), 4R at Wimbledon (l. to Cilic), fell in 1R at Australian Open (l. to Lopez) and fell in qualifying at Roland Garros (l. to Amaboldi in Q1)  Also began working in June with Billy Heiser, who also coaches . Has compiled a 17-2 match record. Since they began together, went 9-1 in Challengers, 3-1 at Wimbledon. (4R) and now QF here (5-0 with Qs). Ranked No. 139 on June 8 and projected to climb to around a career-high No. 79 with SF and to around No. 74 with final

(7) Gilles Muller (LUX) vs (5) Marcos Baghdatis (CYP) First Meeting

Muller FastFacts: 2015 Highlights: SF(2): Sydney (l Troicki); s-Hertogenbosch (l Goffin); QF(4): Chennai (l Wawrinka); Rotterdam (l Wawrinka); Estoril (l Carreno Busta); London / Queen's Club (l Murray) YTD W-L: 23-14 (14-8 on hard) YTD Titles: 0 / Career Titles: 0 Date of Birth: May 9, 1983 Emirates ATP Ranking: 52 Atlanta W-L (Best Result-Year): 11-3 (RUP 2012)

 The 32-year-old left-hander opened with a 62 61 win over American Donald Young in the 1R on Monday and followed with a 63 62 win over American qualifier Jared Donaldson to reach the QF on Wednesday. On Friday he defeated 75 61 to reach the SF here for the third time. He is playing here for the fourth time and first since falling to in the 2012 final. Also reached the SFs in 2011 (l. to Isner) and has an 11-3 tournament record  Only player in tournament yet to lose serve, holding all 26 games (facing only one brk pt.) and leads in return games won (11 of 25, 44%) and first serve pts. won (86%) while No. 2 in aces (37) behind Isner (52)  Appearing in his third ATP World Tour SF of the year (0-2 record). Reached SFs at Sydney (l. to Troicki) and ‘s-Hertogenbosch (l. to Goffin)  Looking to reach fourth career ATP World Tour final (0-3) and first since reaching the final here in 2012. Also runner-up in ’04 Washington (l. to Hewitt) and ’05 Los Angeles (l. to Agassi)  His 23 match wins is a career-high, surpassing 22 in 2012. Reached career-high ranking No. 34 on Feb. 16 (52 this week). Will move to around No. 45 with SF, around No. 43 with final and around No. 30 if he wins his first title  In Grand Slam play (4-3 record), reached 4R at Australian Open (d. Bautista Agut in 2R, d. Isner in 3R, l. to eventual champion Djokovic), fell in 2R at Roland Garros (l. to Djokovic) and 1R at Wimbledon (l. to Tsonga in 5-sets)

Baghdatis FastFacts: 2015 Highlights: SF (2): Zagreb (l Garcia-Lopez); Nottingham (l Istomin) YTD W-L: 19-12 (10-6 on hard) YTD Titles: 0 / Career Titles: 4 Date of Birth: June 17, 1985 Emirates ATP Ranking: 47 Atlanta W-L (Best Result-Year): 3-0 (SF 2015)

 The 30-year-old Cypriot knocked off the No. 2 seed 64 76(5) to reach the SF. Advanced to the QF with a 75 36 63 win over Aussie Sam Groth on Wednesday. He defeated American qualifier 64 60 in his tournament debut on Tuesday. Has held serve 31 of 34 games this week (91%), saving 10 of 13 break pts. (77%)  Appearing in third ATP World Tour SF of the year (0-2 record) BB&T Atlanta Open Day 6 – Saturday, August 1, 2015 Page 5 of 5 www.ATPWorldTour.com

 Looking to reach his 12th career ATP World Tour final (4-7 record, 3-5 on hard) and first since reaching the final at 2011 Kuala Lumpur (l. to Tipsarevic). The last title he won was 2010 Sydney (d. Gasquet). Has lost seven SFs in a row since last final reached in 2011  The former World No. 8 (August of 2008) is looking to finish in the Top 50 for the first time since 2012 – finished at No. 36 (35-25 record)  Came in ranked No. 47 and has 100 pts. coming off after winning Vancouver Challenger last year. Will move to around No. 44 by reaching final and to around No. 37 if wins the title  Reached first ATP World Tour SF since 2012 Brisbane (l. to Dimitrov) at Zagreb (l. to Garcia- Lopez) in February, also reached SF at Nottingham (l. to Istomin) in June  In Grand Slam play (5-3 record), reached the 3R at Australian Open (l. to Dimitrov) and Wimbledon (l. to Goffin), fell in 2R at Roland Garros (l.to Dzumhur)

POTENTIAL FINAL HEAD-TO-HEADS

(1) John Isner (USA) vs (7) Gilles Muller (LUX) Isner Leads 3-1 10 Atlanta (U.S.A.) Hard R16 John Isner 4-6 7-6(6) 7-6(7) 11 Atlanta (U.S.A.) Hard SF John Isner 7-5 6-7(3) 6-1 12 Memphis (U.S.A.) Hard R32 John Isner 7-6(1) 7-6(4) 15 Australian Open (Australia) Hard R32 Gilles Muller 7-6(4) 7-6(6) 6-4

(1) John Isner (USA) vs (5) Marcos Baghdatis (CYP) Isner Leads 5-0 09 Los Angeles (U.S.A.) Hard R16 John Isner 6-3 7-6(11) 11 ATP Masters 1000 Toronto (Canada) Hard R64 John Isner 6-3 6-4 11 Winston-Salem (U.S.A.) Hard QF John Isner 1-6 6-3 6-4 11 US Open (U.S.A.) Hard R128 John Isner 7-6(2)7-6(11)2-66-4 13 Washington (U.S.A.) Hard QF John Isner 6-7(5) 6-4 6-4

(Q) Denis Kudla (USA) vs (7) Gilles Muller (LUX) First ATP Meeting Other meetings: 14 Guadalajara CH (Mexico) Hard F Gilles Muller 6-2 6-2 15 Irving CH (U.S.A.) Hard R16 Gilles Muller 6-4 6-0

(Q) Denis Kudla (USA) vs (5) Marcos Baghdatis (CYP) First ATP Meeting Other meeting: 14 Nottingham CH (Great Britain) Grass R16 Marcos Baghdatis 6-4 6-4