Atlantic Station Serves Up BB&T Atlanta Open on Saturday

The BB&T Atlanta Open will be held at Atlantic Station July 14-22 and is the first men’s event in the Emirates Airline US Open Series. More info:

• Tournament level: ATP World Tour 250 Event
• Dates: Main Draw: July 16-22, 2012; Qualifying: July 14-15, 2012
• Site: Atlantic Station, 1380 Atlantic Dr NW, Atlanta, Ga., 30363, www.atlanticstation.com
• Singles main draw: 28-player draw with four players coming from qualifying
• Doubles main draw: 16-team draw
• Qualifying draw: 32-player singles draw
• Prize Money: $531,000
• Stadium Court seating capacity: 3,612
• Total seating capacity including United Way Grandstand Court & Court 3: 4,508
• Emirates Airline US Open Series: First ATP tournament in eight-tournament series leading up the US Open. 2012 will be the ninth year of the Series.
• Web site: www.bbtatlantaopen.com

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The BB&T Atlanta Open’s focus on giving Georgia’s college tennis players a shot at pro stardom received an extra boost when University of Georgia and Georgia Tech players were selected to face off in the tournament’s qualifying tournament, which begins Saturday.

The most intriguing matchup pits Wil Spencer, a two-time All American for the University of Georgia, versus King, a 2012 All American for Georgia Tech. Spencer has a 3-0 record against King in three fall collegiate tournaments.

Spencer began his collegiate career at Texas A&M. Transferring to Georgia after his second year, he led the Bulldogs to the semifinals of the 2011 NCAA Championships and the 2012 SEC Championship. King, of Peachtree City, was one of the most accomplished doubles players to have played for Georgia Tech. Finishing his senior season with a record of 16-2 in doubles and his 80th career singles win.

Other Georgia collegians competing are Drake Bernstein, a former UGA standout, Atlanta’s Nathan Pasha, a rising UGA sophomore, and Ignacio Taboada, another prominent Bulldog. Bernstein will take on Bradley Cox, of Duluth, who played for the Kentucky Wildcats.

For the second year, a pair of Peach State rivals have been given a wild card into the main doubles draw. This year, King and Taboada will team up. Last year, the tandem of King and Bernstein picked up the biggest upset of the tournament when they eliminated the defending champion team of Scott Lipsky and Rajeev Ram in the first round.

Two-time NCAA Singles Champion Steve Johnson of the University of Southern California will receive a wild card into the main singles draw. In 2012, his senior year, he led USC to its fourth straight NCAA Championship. C

onsidered the most dominant men’s college player in recent memory, he won an astonishing 72 consecutive singles victories. Johnson is the only player ever to win back-to-back team and individual titles in the same years under the current NCAA tournament structure, according to the university.

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Cumulus Atlanta radio stations will be partnering with the BB&T Atlanta Open to present the First Serve Concert on Saturday, featuring guest appearances by this year's tournament competitors and live acts Sister Hazel, Ponderosa, and Seven Handle Circus.

The show will take place in Central Park, in the heart of Atlantic Station. Tickets are on sale now for $15, with kids 10 and under receiving free admission.

Seven Handle Circus will take the stage at 5:45 p.m., followed by Ponderosa at 7, the Player Draw at 8:30, followed by the headliner Sister Hazel at 9. Tickets are available at TicketAlternative.com.

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The BB&T Atlanta Open has announced that the Grandstand Court will be named after the official primary charity of the tournament, United Way of Metropolitan Atlanta. This is the second year of the charitable partnership, and the goal is to create additional opportunities for fundraising, awareness and community engagement for both United Way and the BB&T Atlanta Open.

In addition to this inaugural celebration, United Way will be on-site during the BB&T Atlanta Open educating the community about our role creating positive change in our 13-county service area. Professionals under age 40 will also speak about the impact of United Way’s Young Professional Leaders group.

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Mardy Fish defeated John Isner in 2010 and 2011 to win the first two singles finals when the tournament was called the Atlanta Tennis Championships and held at the Atlanta Athletic Club. Other top competitors included Andy Roddick, Lleyton Hewitt, James Blake and Robby Ginepri, of Marietta.

More than 72,000 spectators attended the tournament that offers $531,000 in prize money annually. Atlantic Station signed a multi-year deal to host the tournament starting in 2012.

The 2012 Tournament is expected to provide an economic impact of $10.3 million to the city of Atlanta, according to the Atlanta Convention & Visitors Bureau.

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All four Americans set to play singles at the London Olympics are scheduled to play in the main draw of the tournament.

Roddick, Isner, Donald Young and Ryan Harrison have been selected to represent the United States at the London Olympics. Additionally, Roddick and Isner are on the Olympics roster as a doubles team.

The Olympics tennis competition starts on Saturday, July 28 -- only six days after a champion is crowned in Atlanta -- and will be played on the storied grass courts at Wimbledon.

Olympians from seven countries on three continents will play the Atlanta tournament. International players in the singles main draw are: Alex Bogomolov Jr. and Dmitry Tursunov, Russia; Lukas Lacko, Slovak Republic; Yen-Hsun Lu, Chinese Taipei; Kei Nishikori and Go Soeda, Japan; and Gilles Muller, Luxembourg. Other singles players who are in the Olympics doubles competition are Nishikori/Soeda, and Lacko.

Additionally, the doubles team of Colin Fleming and Ross Hutchins is playing for Great Britain.

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Tickets for the BB&T Atlanta Open are on sale now. Buying a tennis ticket can be confusing, so to de-confuse the process, here are some FAQs.

I've bought my ticket. Where can I watch tennis?
One ticket gives you access to all three courts. When you purchase a ticket, that ticket grants you an assigned seat within Stadium Court for the matches during that session. That same ticket allows you to enter United Way Grandstand Court and Court 3 as well as the rest of the entire grounds including the practice courts. United Way Grandstand Court and Court 3 have a first-come, first-served seating where you can sit close to the action, sometimes in the first row with some luck and planning. Once all the Stadium Court seats have been sold, grounds passes will be available that grant the fan access to United Way Grandstand Court and Court 3. If you are interested in reserving a seat on United Way Grandstand Court, please contact BB&T Atlanta Open Ticket and Sales Manager, John McDevitt.  

What is a session? Most days consist of one session. Friday and Saturday are the exceptions as there are two sessions on Friday and Saturday. The first session on Friday (7/20) begins at 1 p.m. and the second will begin at 7 PM. This schedule is the same for Saturday (7/21), therefore if you plan on attending the BB&T Atlanta Open all day Friday or Saturday, you must have a Day and Night session ticket. You may enter the grounds up to an hour before the start of the first match of the session.  

Where will I be sitting? The BB&T Atlanta Open offers five different levels of seats. Piper-Heidsieck Champagne Suites, Courtside Seats, Platinum Seats, Gold reserved seats and Silver reserved seats. Courtside and Platinum seats are located in the lower level of the stadium and consist of individual chairs with backs, while Gold reserved and Silver reserved seats consist of bleacher style seating in the upper level of the Stadium.  

Where can I sit in shade? The West side of Stadium Court will capture the most shade. All five seating levels are offered on the West side of Stadium Court.  

Where do the players and umpire sit? The players and umpire will sit on the West side of Stadium Court.