As day three of the BB&T Atlanta Open comes to a close, the first main draw matches of the week, both doubles and singles begin. Ryan Harrison, former junior world No. 7 and relative newcomer on the ATP scene, and Marinko Matosevic from Australia started off the first singles match on Stadium Court after the last of the qualifying matches. After a quick first set win, posting a score of 6-2, Harrison began to lose his cool in the second set, getting visibly frustrated after being penalized for a time violation. After dropping the set 6-2, Harrison was able to regain his composure going up 3-2 early in the third set after breaking Matosevic. As Matosevic took to the net in a last attempt to win points, Harrison continued to step into the court, drilling the ball. Approaching the final set with a 5-3 lead, Harrison cruised to a 6-3 victory after two double faults by Matosevic allowed him to go up 0-40 in the final game of the set. Following the Bro Down Showdown, two main draw wild cards faced off. Denis Kudla, former junior world No. 3, and Rhyne Williams, a two-year started for the Tennessee Volunteers, took to the court. Like many of the matches that have already been played, both players refused to give up any breaks on serve. Williams, in the closing games of the set, was able to keep the first set from a tiebreaker with a break that gave him the avenue he needed to take the set 7-5. Kudla would not be deterred though, as he continued to play a solid and consistent game throughout the second set, making a push to take the match to a third set. Ready to close out the match quickly as night began to set in, Williams simply outplayed Kudla as he took the set with a 6-4, ending the main draw singles matches for the day.
Earlier on, the first double match of the tournament opened up on AJC Grandstand court, as the third seeded team from Great Britain, Colin Fleming and Jonathan Marray, took on Evgeny Donskoy from Russia and Denis Istomin from Uzbekistan. From the start of the match, the difference in the style of play between the two teams was evident. Donskoy and Istomin took to the backcourt in return games, trying to blow groundstrokes past their opponents. Fleming and Marray’s more aggressive method of charging the net worked to their advantage, as it led them to take the first set with a score of 6-3. Even with a loss in the first set, Donskoy and Istomin chose to stick with the same gameplan, choosing to stay in the back of the court. Their inability to hit passing shots kept them from closing out the second set, taking the match to a tiebreaker. Even with a down the line winner from Donskoy, the pair was unable to turn the tiebreaker in their favor and Fleming and Marray closed out the set with a 7-6 win, closing out the first doubles match of the tournament.