RTL Today – Aussie Thompson takes on Japanese Nishioka in ATP Atlanta final

Australian Jordan Thompson, chasing his second ATP title of the year, and Japan’s Yoshihito Nishioka reached the final of the ATP Atlanta Open on Saturday with a three-set victory.

Thompson defeated Chinese teenager Shang Juncheng 6-3, 4-6, 6-3, while Nishioka defeated Frenchman Arthur Rinderknech 6-3, 4-6, 6-4 in the first American hard-court training event for the US Open.

Nishioka, ranked 86th, has defeated No. 41 Thompson in all four of their previous ATP meetings, all on hard courts, most recently in Paris last year.

After breaking in the eighth game of the third set, Thompson hit his 13th ace to reach match point and win the match after two hours and 21 minutes with a forehand slam winner.

“I served really well,” Thompson said. “I only got broken once, held off a couple games. I felt like my serve really kept me in the match.”

The 30-year-old from Sydney, who is in his fourth ATP final of his career, won his first ATP title in February in Los Cabos by beating Norwegian Casper Ruud in the final.

Winning the title allowed him to rise from 41st in the world rankings to the top 30 for the first time.

The 28-year-old Nishioka is chasing his third career ATP title, after the 2018 Shenzhen Open and the 2022 Korea Open in Seoul.

Nishioka had a break chance and a match point against Rinderknech in the final game and the Japanese star’s winning backhand ended the match after two hours and 19 minutes, sending him to his sixth ATP final.