Few expected the wild-card doubles pairing of Georgia's Drake Bernstein and Georgia Tech's Kevin King to make much of a splash in this year’s Atlanta Tennis Championships, especially with a first-round match scheduled against defending champs Scott Lipsky and Rajeev Ram.
But Bernstein and King turned in an incredible performance, one strong enough to beat Lipsky and Ram in two sets, 7-6 (3), 6-3.
“We had a lot of fans behind us, so it was as exciting as it could be,” King said.
Right after the match, Bernstein and King had time to celebrate, walking off the court to a standing ovation from the fans who remained in their seats past midnight. But by Thursday morning, they were back to business.
“While we really are happy about that win, we’ve been in the college game long enough to know that what you do one day doesn’t determine what you do the next,” Bernstein said.
Isner, Blake out
Former Bulldog John Isner withdrew from Thursday’s doubles portion of the tournament, citing a sore shoulder. He said he wants to make sure he can compete in the singles draw. He will play Yen-Hsun Lu on Friday afternoon.
Isner and James Blake advanced to the second round by knocking off Jamie Murray and Marcelo Melo on Tuesday. They were supposed to play Alex Bogomolov Jr. and Matthew Ebden.
Night matches
Ryan Harrison bounced back from his rain- and lightning-delayed match to dispatch Xavier Malisse, the fourth seed, 6-7 (3), 6-4, 6-4, which wasn't without man-made lightning. During the third set, after Harrison broke Malisse to pull within 3-2, Malisse said something during the changeover. Harrison fired back.
"He said some things to me that I wasn't too happy he said, so I said some things that he wasn't too happy I said," Harrison said.
Defending champ Mardy Fish defeated Nicolas Mahut 6-3, 6-3. He will play Somdev Devvarman on Friday.
"I'm happy to move on," Fish said. "It's only going to get tougher."
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