Australia’s Jordan Thompson and Japan’s Yoshihito Nishioka entered the ATP Atlanta Open final following nerve-wracking three-set victories on Saturday.
Thompson defeated his opponent Shang Juncheng, the Chinese teen qualifier 6-3, 4-6, 6-3. In the third set, he was able to break to lead 5-3 then consolidated that break to take the set in the next game, having won 13 aces and a final forehand winner in the match and won in total in less than 2 hours and 16 minutes. “I served really well,” Thompson said. “I was only broken once and I was able to save a few tough games,” he said while appreciating his serve for being able to get him through the match. The 30-year-old Australian from Sydney would be looking to clinch his second ATP title of the year and potentially make an entry into the top 30.
Seventy-six-ranked Nishioka outclassed sixty-sixth-ranked France’s Arthur Rinderknech 6-3, 4-6, 6-4. He picked on Rinderknech in the last game of the match and after two hours and nineteen minutes clinched the match with a backhand winner. There has been contention between Nishioka and Thompson and the latter has never beaten Nishioka before especially on hard courts where they have met four times. He is keen on his third ATP crown, the prior had come at the Shenzhen Open in 2018 and the Korea Open in Seoul this year.
It is easy to see that both players are warming up for the ultimate tennis event – the US Open to be held in New York while the prospect of battling it out in the ATP Atlanta Open final makes both contenders even more eager to win.