The summer heat won't be the only story in D.C. as local players and up-and-coming young stars look to make their mark at Citi Open.
WASHINGTON — The summer hard court season officially kicks off this week with the 48th edition of D.C.’s Citi Open (formerly the Legg Mason Classic) from the Rock Creek Park Tennis Center.
The tournament will once again include both ATP and WTA fields and comes to town a little earlier than usual, with next month’s Olympic Games impacting the tours’ schedules this summer.
A more compact schedule may have contributed to some high-end players withdrawing from the Citi Open over the past week (including Tomas Berdych, Nick Kyrgios and Juan Martin del Potro), but deep fields remain in both the men’s and women’s draws.
While the heat and humidity will surely be a storyline throughout the week with temperatures expected to stay in the 90s, there are plenty of additional storylines and players to monitor from this year’s tournament.
Main draw play begins Monday with 48 players in the ATP bracket (the top 16 seeds receive first-round byes) and 32 players in the WTA bracket.
(AP Photo/Francois Mori)
AP Photo/Francois Mori
Isner seeks elusive D.C. championship
John Isner has become a Citi Open fixture since reaching his first career ATP final here in 2007, and the top-ranked American returns to the U.S. capital this week for the ninth time in the last 10 years. Isner is a three-time finalist in D.C., having lost the championship match to Andy Roddick (2007), Juan Martin del Potro (2013) and Kei Nishikori (2015).
“Certainly have not lost to any slouches,” Isner said last August after dropping to 0-3 lifetime in the Washington final.
With the recent withdrawal of world No. 8 Tomas Berdych, Isner will be the No.1 seed at the Citi Open for the first time in his career. One of the most devastating servers in the game, Isner leads the ATP Tour with 670 aces in 25 matches this year. For perspective, Canadian Milos Raonic ranks second with 565 aces in 46 matches.
Isner represented the U.S. at last weekend’s Davis Cup tie against Croatia, but he will not compete at the Olympic Games in Rio next month. The 31-year-old will instead defend his BB&T Open title in Atlanta.
(AP Photo/Alastair Grant)
AP Photo/Alastair Grant
Can Stephens defend her title?
Sloane Stephens turned 23 in March, but the Florida native is already a seasoned veteran at the Citi Open, where she will compete for the sixth time in as many years. This marks the first time, though, that she arrives in D.C. as the defending champion. Stephens didn’t drop a set at last year’s tournament, en route to capturing her first career WTA title and a cool $43,000.
Stephens has since added to her trophy case with three more titles in 2016, and she arrives in Washington as the 23rd-ranked player on the WTA Tour. Stephens is the No. 2 seed at this year’s tournament (behind only Stosur) and will face Japan’s Risa Ozaki in the opening round.
(AP Photo/Ben Curtis)
AP Photo/Ben Curtis
Querrey looks to build off Wimbledon success
Fresh off one of the biggest upsets of the year, Sam Querrey returns to the court for the first time since reaching the quarterfinals at Wimbledon. Querrey drew international acclaim after his third-round win over world No. 1 Novak Djokovic and became the first American male to reach the final eight of a Grand Slam since Andy Roddick at the 2011 U.S. Open.
Thanks to his successful run at Wimbledon, Querrey jumped 12 spots in the ATP World Tour rankings to No. 29, marking the first time he’s cracked the top 30 since August 2013. Querrey, who is seeded eighth at this year’s tournament, will return to D.C. in August for his second season with the Washington Kastles of World Team Tennis.
(AP Photo/Alastair Grant)
AP Photo/Alastair Grant
Local players look to break through in men’s draw
17 Americans help comprise the field of 48 players in the men’s draw, including a couple of local products in Denis Kudla (Arlington, Virginia) and Frances Tiafoe (Hyattsville, Maryland).
Both Kudla, 23, and Tiafoe, 18, are products of the Junior Tennis Champions Center in College Park, Maryland, and consider the Citi Open their “home” tournament. But despite any home-court advantage they may enjoy, both are looking to reach the second round of the Citi Open for the first time in their careers.
Tiafoe made his ATP debut here in 2014 but fell in straight sets to Evgeny Donskoy. He was granted a wild card for this year’s tournament and could face American Steve Johnson in the second round if he wins his opening match against Adrian Mannarino of France.
Kudla, who will represent the U.S. at next month’s Rio Games, will look to bounce back from a first-round loss at Wimbledon last month. The early exit came a year after he reached the Round-of-16 at the All England Club. Kudla reached a career-high ranking of 53rd in the world in May and will face Australian John Millman in his first-round match in Washington. Kudla is 0-3 lifetime at the Citi Open.
(AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)
AP Photo/Lynne Sladky
Generation next
Tiafoe won’t be the only American teenager in the men’s draw this week, as he’ll be joined in D.C. by fellow 18-year-olds Taylor Fritz (pictured) and Reilly Opelka. All three are looking to translate successful junior careers into consistent results on the pro circuit.
Among the three, Fritz has enjoyed the most success on the ATP World Tour, reaching his first career ATP final earlier this year in Memphis. Although Fritz fell to Kei Nishikori in the Memphis final, he became the youngest American to play for an ATP title since Michael Chang in 1989. Fritz won the boys singles title at the 2015 U.S. Open and finished the year as the top-ranked junior. He enters the Citi Open ranked 64th on the ATP World Tour and will face Israel’s Dudi Sela (No. 65) in the first round.
Fritz is growing up quickly both on and off the court — he will compete in D.C. less than two weeks after marrying Raquel Pedraza, an aspiring player on the WTA Tour.
Opelka, Fritz’s best man, won the 2015 Wimbledon boys singles title and has spent much of this year playing in challenger tournaments. The 6’11” Michigan native was granted a wild card for the Citi Open and at No. 547 in the world, is the lowest ranked player in the field. He faces 32-year-old Malek Jaziri (No. 58) in the first round.
(AP Photo/Christophe Ena)
AP Photo/Christophe Ena
Another new kid on the block
Two weeks removed from capturing this year’s boys singles title at Wimbledon, 17-year-old Denis Shapovalov will make his ATP main draw debut at the Citi Open. Shapovalov, who was born in Israel but raised in Canada by Russian parents, led Canada to its first ever Junior Davis Cup title in 2015.
Shapovalov is the latest Canadian to make noise on the international stage, following in the footsteps of world No. 7 Milos Raonic, who fell in the Men’s Final at Wimbledon earlier this month.
Shapovalov is one of two Canadians in this year’s men’s draw, along with 2014 Citi Open finalist Vasek Pospisil.
(AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)
AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth
U.S. Olympians prepare for Rio Games
While Isner and Querrey have declined invites to the Olympics, all four players who will represent the U.S. in men’s singles will be in Rock Creek Park next week. In addition to Johnson and Kudla, Jack Sock and Brian Baker will also compete in D.C. before heading to the Rio Games next month.
Sock, 23, had a memorable win on the international stage on Friday, rallying from two sets down to beat Marin Cilic in five sets in the Americans’ Davis Cup tie against Croatia.
Johnson, 26, earned his first career ATP title in Nottingham in June before reaching the fourth round at Wimbledon (where he eventually fell to world No. 3 Roger Federer). The University of Southern California alum and 2012 NCAA champion is ranked a career-high 25th in the world.
(AP Photo/Tim Ireland)
AP Photo/Tim Ireland
Wozniacki seeks momentum heading into Brazil
Caroline Wozniacki is among the headliners in the women’s field, but the former world No. 1 is in rare territory having dropped out of the top 50 for the first time since 2008. Ankle injuries have slowed Wozniacki over the past two years and the two-time U.S. Open finalist arrives in D.C. ranked No. 60 on the WTA Tour.
Should Wozniacki win her opening match, she could face top-seeded Samantha Stosur in an intriguing second-round showdown.
Wozniacki, 26, will be competing in her third career Olympic Games next month, where she will serve as Denmark’s flag bearer for the opening ceremonies.
(AP Photo/Ben Curtis)
