John Isner and James Blake looked like the best of friends as they teamed to defeat Marcelo Melo and Jamie Murray 6-4, 6-2 in their first-round doubles match Tuesday night at the Atlanta Tennis Championships.

But on Wednesday they will be on opposite sides of the net when they face off in the second round of the singles portion of the tournament at the Racquet Club of the South in Norcross.

Blake advanced by defeating Ernests Gulbis on Monday. Isner, a former Georgia player and the tournament’s third seed, received a bye.

Their match is scheduled to begin no earlier than 7 p.m. on the Stadium Court. They have never faced each other before.

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Former Atlanta Journal-Constitution reporter Norman Arey died Oct. 11, 2025 at the age of 84. In addition to sports writing, Arey also co-wrote the popular "Peach Buzz" society column. (Courtesy of the Arey family)

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Members of the conversion crew take a break as the main scoreboard is lowered to the floor to be worked on as the arena gets ready for the next concert at State Farm Arena, Thursday, October 2, 2025, in Atlanta. The crew was working on creating a stage for the Friday, Oct. 3 Maxwell concert. (Jason Getz/AJC)

Credit: Jason Getz / Jason.Getz@ajc.com