Former Georgia Gwinnett College tennis star Jordan Cox and teammate Emil Reinberg fell in a back-and-forth three-set battle on Tuesday evening at the BB&T Atlanta Open, electrifying the hometown fans throughout the night.

The 6-2, 3-6, 10-6 defeat to longtime professionals Wesley Koolhof and Artem Sitak marked the first-ever ATP World Tour event for the former Grizzly, and the result was in doubt until the very end.

Each side traded turns securing the momentum before the veteran pair held off a final charge from Cox and Reinberg in a third-set tiebreaker to advance in the tournament.

"It's tough," said Cox. "It was a great experience and I thought we did very well, but on the other hand, we lost. We were in it and we had a chance. So it was a good feeling that we were in it and played that well, but frustrating that we came up short."

Cox produced a number of highlights and clean winners throughout the night, especially at the net. His play helped erase an early hole as he and Reinberg used a couple of key breaks of serve in the second set to level the match.

"In that second set, when we were in there and we got the break, we were up and we were feeling really good and you felt like anything could happen."

Then things went to a first-to-ten tiebreak for the final set, where the veteran pair of Koolhof and Sitak built a commanding 7-0 lead. But the young duo held tough and brought things back to 8-6 with strong serving from Cox before eventually dropping the final two points and the match.

"Their big lead was a tough start to get past in the breaker, but we definitely felt like we were with them and if we had cleaned up a couple of things, we could have come out with a win."

The event was part of the tournament's College Night, where products from the state's most prominent programs were on display.

"I really appreciate the opportunity the tournament gave us to come out and play here in the main draw, in our hometown. Having all the friends and family out here is something I will never forget. It's going to be a highlight for a long time."

Cox wrapped up his stellar GGC career this past May by helping the Grizzlies win their fourth-consecutive national championship.