Top seed John Isner’s BB&T Atlanta Open title defence is off to a flying start after the American reeled off the last 10 games of the match to dispatch of Frenchman Adrian Mannarino on Wednesday night. Isner extended his winning streak in Atlanta to 13 with the 6-4, 6-0 second-round result having claimed the title the past three years.

Despite being broken for 2-1 in the opening set, the World No. 17 began to find his range. From 2-4 down, he broke twice to take the opening set and after saving four break points in the opening game of the second set, was never troubled again, reeling off a bagel set to seal the match in little more than one hour. He finished with 16 aces and saved four of five break points faced.

“I guess just getting that break at 4-3 to get it back on serve,” Isner said of the turning point in the match. “The previous game I had three break points but didn’t play that well but it was still an encouraging game.

“I held serve at 4-2 and got it back on serve and from there felt really good about my chances. I certainly turned the match around. I don’t know if I’ve ever won 10 games in a row, but I’ll take it.”

Isner carried a 5-1 FedEx ATP Head2Head record into his match with the French lefty. He knew exactly what he had to do to ensure a sixth win.

“I think tactically I did some things well out there. I needed to go to his forehand and I did,” he said. “I was going to his backhand a little too much early on and was paying the price for it. The game plan was get the ball high and up on his forehand because he does not like that at all.”

Isner will next meet either No. 8 seed Taylor Fritz or fellow American Bjorn Fratangelo for a place in the semi-finals. He has never fallen before the semi-finals in six prior appearances.

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BB&T Atlanta Open – Atlanta, Georgia

NextGen stars Nick Kyrgios and Taylor Fritz were joined by Reilly Opelka and Christopher Eubanks for some two-on-two hoops at Georgia Tech in Atlanta. Read & Watch

Kyrgios also stopped by the NBA TV program “Game Time” to chat with Vince Cellini and former NBA star Steve Smith. Read

Donald Young opened up his swanky apartment to our cameras for a tour of his Atlanta home. Read

Fritz and Julien Benneteau attended Tennis Night on the Town and assisted at the draw ceremony. Watch

Fernando Verdasco and John Isner attended a reception for the title sponsor, BB&T, while the top seed also visited with fans on College Night.

Third seed Kevin Anderson chatted with Fox Live and did a meet-and-greet at the PGA Superstore.

Artem Sitak, Andreas Siljestrom, Nicholas Monroe, Benneteau, Purav Raja, Divij Sharan, Marcelo Demoliner and Eubanks were among the stars to participate in tennis clinics.

Verdasco, Jared Donaldson, Jonathan Erlich, Mariusz Fyrstenberg, Aisam-Ul-Haq Qureshi, Austin Smith and Opelka were on hand for the tournament pro-am.

Alexandr Dolgopolov, Tim Smyczek, Opelka and John-Patrick Smith met with fans at autograph signings, while Donaldson and Young visited suites.

#NextGen star Andrey Rublev has enjoyed breakout results in 2016, but the Russian teenager hopes it’s only a sign of what’s to come.

The 18-year-old Russian is competing in this week’s scenic $50,000 ATP Challenger Tour event in Cortina, Italy. On Wednesday, he weathered 16 aces to prevail in a tight two-set match over qualifier Viktor Galovic of Croatia and move into the second round, 7-6(4), 7-6(7).

Prevailing in the majority of the long rallies is a testament to the work that Rublev has put in on the practice court and in the gym. The rigorous program he embarked on during the off-season has helped take his game to the next level as he continues a push towards the Top 100 of the Emirates ATP Rankings.

“I focused on my fitness and trying to get stronger, faster, and prepared for lengthy matches played at a higher speed,” said Rublev. “I was working at IMG Academy in Bradenton [Florida] and playing with top-level people. Being there gives you a chance to work on some technical details and their work attitude is a great example for me.”

The hard work paid off when Rublev came through qualifying to win his first ATP Challenger Tour title this February in Quimper, France. He became the third teenager to win an ATP World Tour title in 2016, joining Taylor Fritz (Happy Valley) and Blake Mott (Launceston).

“Winning a Challenger for me was the next step in my career, a new stage,” said Rublev. “Winning always gives you a lot of confidence. It shows that you are moving in the right direction and all your work is not in vain.”

Even though Rublev is still relatively new to life as a pro, he’s already racking up the miles. The teenager is competing in his 25^th tournament of the year in Cortina.

But while he’s played throughout the world, it’s his time at the ATP Challenger Tour event this June in his hometown of Moscow that ranks among his favorite memories of the year. He’s hopeful to get the chance to play in front of a home crowd later this year at the Kremlin Cup.

“It’s always a special feeling to play in front of my family, my relatives and people I like so much. I’m trying to do my best for them to be proud of me,” said Rublev. “The people who organise the Challenger in Moscow are great as well. They really want to do everything possible for us to feel at ease and be able to show our best tennis. They show a lot of enthusiasm, hard work and creativity.”

Facundo Bagnis has already won three ATP Challenger Tour titles in 2016, but he’s eager to add another to the list this week.

The 26-year-old Argentine is the third seed at this week’s $50,000 event in Cortina, Italy. Setting the tone for what he hopes will be a successful week, Bagnis won 81 per cent of his first serve points to prevail in his opening round against Christian Garin of Chile, 6-1, 7-6(2).

Having started the year at No. 140 in the Emirates ATP Rankings, Bagnis’ Challenger success pushed him inside the Top 100 of the Emirates ATP Rankings to his current standing of No. 91.

“I think I’m having so much success now because I worked a lot and for a very long time. It’s always about being ready and fit. That’s the only way you can get to a higher level,” said Bagnis. “This is the outcome of working every day, any given week of the year.”

Bagnis opened 2016 by winning three $50,000 ATP Challenger Tour events in the first three months of the year (Buenos Aires and Rio De Janeiro in January, followed by Santiago in March). All eight of his Challenger singles title have come on clay. Growing up playing on the red clay in his hometown of Rosario, he admitted he prefers to play on the surface whenever possible.

“We have so many clay courts in Argentina, so I’m confident playing on it,” he said. “You have to be physically good for clay and right now I’m in great shape. I’m physically well and that’s because of my good nutrition and attention to recovery… I have a great team with me, which helps me so much and makes me a better player.”

But Bagnis doesn’t want to be known as just a clay-courter. He’s working on being more aggressive to end points quickly and making more frequents trips to the net to finish off points. The Argentine has already been showing off these improvements in Cortina, a tournament which he has quickly grown to love.

“This city is beautiful,” he said. “We’ve already had the chance to take walks around and do activities in our spare time. We enjoyed the official players’ dinner up in the mountains as well. That was really cool.”

Reilly Opelka continued to make waves at the BB&T Atlanta Open on Wednesday, knocking out No. 3 seed Kevin Anderson 6-7(5), 6-3, 7-5 in just under three hours to reach the quarter-finals. The 18 year old was a game away from losing at 4-5, Anderson serving in the deciding set, but swept the final three games of the match to score his first win over a Top 30 player.

Opelka fired 11 of his 20 aces in the opening set but lost the tie-break to fall behind. In the second set, the 6’11” American ended a streak of six consecutive tie-breaks played by securing the lone break of serve to even the match. Opelka held nine break points in the third set, converting on two of them to defeat the 30-year-old South African.

Next up for the 2015 Wimbledon junior champion will be either Tim Smyczek or Donald Young. Opelka is currently No. 556 in the Emirates ATP Rankings but is projected to make a big jump in the rankings after reaching his first ATP World Tour quarter-final.

WHITE PLAINS, N.Y., August 03, 2016 – The USTA today announced that outgoing ATP Player Council president and former Top 20 doubles player Eric Butorac has been named Director, Professional Tennis Operations and Player Relations, USTA, starting in October 2016. Butorac will have a dual report to USTA Chief Executive, Professional Tennis Stacey Allaster and US Open Tournament Director David Brewer.

In this newly created role, Butorac will be responsible for enhancing player relations year-round across all of the USTA’s professional tennis events, including the US Open, and he will work closely with both professional tours.  Additionally, he will assist USTA Player Development with doubles coaching and mentoring and will work with Player Development and Professional Tennis Operations on enhancing the USTA Pro Circuit, among other duties.

“Eric will bring a unique player perspective to our USTA team,” said Allaster.  “He is a well-respected professional whose leadership on the ATP Player Council will be a tremendous asset for our organization moving forward.”

Butorac, 35, has won 18 ATP doubles titles in his 14-year professional career and reached the doubles final at the 2014 Australian Open. A native of Rochester, Minn., he served eight years on the ATP Player Council and succeeded Roger Federer as its President in 2014.

Butorac was a three-time ITA all-American while playing college tennis for Gustavus Adolphus College in Minnesota and won the NCAA Division III singles and doubles titles in 2003. He also served as a volunteer assistant coach for Harvard’s men’s tennis team from 2010-14.

Butorac will start in this new position on October 1, 2016.  He plans on playing through the summer with his career culminating at the 2016 US Open.

I missed a flight?

I’ve never missed a flight because I usually travel with other people. If I were on my own maybe it’d be a different story.

I lost something important?

I lose my wallet and everything in it every six weeks. I’m still trying to find the answer to why that is.

I paid money to rent a tennis court or buy tennis balls?

It’s been a while since I’ve paid for a court. Growing up in Florida, there are public courts everywhere. Balls I will buy once in a while. Maybe six months ago was the last time I paid for a can of balls.

Being famous helped me?

Not too many people know a guy ranked 800^th in the world, so hopefully we can come back to that questions in a couple of years. People do call me John [Isner] a lot. One fan thought I was him in Boca Raton. She took a photo with me and was so excited that she never let me say anything. She said: “I took a photo with you in Cincinnati six years ago, and I’m curious to see what’s changed.”

I strung a tennis racquet?

I was never able to do it. I tried one time when I was 10 or 11 and it was a mess. I never had the patience for it.

I cooked for myself and others?

One time Tommy Paul and I made chicken alfredo pasta. It was on a holiday and everything was closed. We had some groceries at the house I was renting. We managed to not set the house on fire.

I met a childhood idol?

I met James Blake at the US Open last year. I’ve always looked up to him. In fact I have a poster of him at my house. He was the player I watched the most growing up.

I shared a hotel room with another player?

A couple of weeks ago, I roomed with Tommy Paul at a Futures tournament.

I asked someone famous for an autograph or a selfie?

I approached [recording artist] J. Cole at the Charlotte airport a couple of weeks ago on the way to Winston Salem. I got rejected. He didn’t want to be recognised but we shook hands so it was cool.

To hear John Isner say it, defending an ATP World Tour title only gets easier the more times you do it. The three-time defending BB&T Atlanta Open champion will test that theory again this week when he goes for his fourth consecutive crown at Atlantic Station in Atlanta.

Isner will be trying to join some elite ATP World Tour company. Among active players, only a quartet have won a tournament four straight times.

“I think defending a tournament win the first time is pretty hard. Now I’ve done it three times… in a way it sort of takes the pressure off,” Isner said. “If I can do it this year it’d be pretty special…. I do feel like I’m most likely the guy to beat here.”

Isner, No. 17 in the Emirates ATP Rankings, is the top seed at the ATP World Tour 250 event. The No.1 American opens his defence on Wednesday evening against Frenchman Adrian Mannarino. Isner is 5-1 against the left-hander, including a straight-sets win at the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells earlier this season.

“It doesn’t surprise me at all that he’s contending for a fourth straight title here,” said Nick Kyrgios, who’s playing in Atlanta for the first time and is the second seed.

The fast Atlanta hard courts combined with the humid August air have helped Isner’s big game. “The courts and the conditions suit him well,” Kyrgios said. “If he’s having a good serving day, it’s almost impossible to return it.”

The 31-year-old Isner also benefits from an abundance of fan support. He played collegiate tennis only an hour and 20 minutes away from Atlanta at the University of Georgia in Athens. His former Bulldog coaches and hundreds of Georgia fans always come out to encourage him.

“I certainly feel their support when I’m on the court here,” Isner said.

Isner will try to jump-start his 2016 season in the friendly territory. The top American is still looking to win an ATP World Tour title for the seventh consecutive season.

“I haven’t really come through in some close matches whereas in the past I have. It’s nothing to do with my game, it’s just a couple things mental here and there,” he said. 

At Wimbledon, Isner had a match point and led Jo-Wilfried Tsonga two sets to love before falling in the fifth set 19-17.

“The good thing is I feel like I’m playing well. I’m not stressing about it,” Isner said. “I’m just happy to be back in Atlanta.”

If nothing else, Isner will apparently eat well while in the southeastern U.S. In Wednesday’s BB&T Atlanta Open “Daily Draw” program, Wayne Bryan, father of Bob Bryan and Mike Bryan, shared what Isner typically devours at the Waffle House restaurant:

“Two full chicken breasts, triple hash browns, double grits, seven scrambled eggs with cheese, a couple of slices of French toast and a short stack of pancakes – topped off with a quart of orange juice and a pint of milk,” Wayne Bryan wrote. “John Isner… you have to watch him very carefully around food.”