Citi Open Qualifying

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Qualifiers Set on Steamy Sunday @CitiOpen

Posted by Admin on July 18, 2016

Posted in: ATP, Citi Open, Steen Kirby, Steve Fogleman, Washington, WTA. Tagged: 2016 Citi Open, ATP Qualifying, ATP Washington, Citi Open, Citi Open Qualifying, Jared Donaldson, Lauren Albanese, Ryan Harrison, Varvara Flink, washington, wta, WTA Washington. Leave a comment

Qualifiers Set on Steamy Sunday at Citi Open
Steve Fogleman and Steen Kirby, Tennis Atlantic

Varvara Flink With Big comeback Win

WASHINGTON (July 17)–Don’t get sick of hearing about the hot weather at Citi Open in Washington this week, because you’ll be hearing about it all week. Seriously, who thought back in February that it would be a good idea to deck the ball kids out in black this year? These kids are warriors, but damn.

Back in February, someone thought Ballkids in Black Was a Great Idea!

When I first saw Varvara Flink’s name, I immediately thought of Tracy Flick from the movie Election. Well, tenacity might be something Flick and Flink have in common, because Flink came back from being BAGELED in the first set to snatching a three-set victory from Japan’s Hiroko Kuwata, 0-6, 6-2, 6-4. She moves on to the main draw, but so will Kuwata as a lucky loser. Both players will need to summon the power of Tracy Flick tomorrow, as Flink takes on Putintseva and Kuwata is rewarded with Caroline Wozniacki.

Lauren Albanese in Straights

American Lauren Albanese was a 7-5, 6-1 victor over Japan’s Shuko Aoyoma. Alla Kudryavtseva made short work of China’s Shilin Xu, 6-4, 6-4, but China’s Lin Zhu got the better of American Sanaz Marand, 6-2, 6-3 to become the final WTA qualifier of the tournament. For Kudryavtseva, she earns a date with Sam Stosur on Stadium Court tomorrow at 4:00 p.m and Lin Zhu will face Shuai Zhang at the same time on Court 1.

Selfies With Ballgirls for Ryan Harrison After Win

Jared Donaldson Into Main Draw of an ATP 500

On the ATP side, Alex Kuznetsov, James Duckworth, Vincent Millot, Ernesto Escobedo, Jared Donaldson, and Ryan Harrison joined the main draw as qualifiers. Duckworth and Millot were the only players to need a third set, although a poor Alejandro Falla retired against Millot in the third set heat. Donaldson was evenly matched against Marinko Matosevic, who was getting good depth on his shots and hitting the ball hard, but Matosevic hit unforced errors when it mattered, and as a result lost the match in a close pair of sets. In doubles qualifying, Brian Baker and Austin Krajicek defeated Harrison and Dennis Novikov in an All-American clash.

CITI OPEN – WASHINGTON, USA
$1,877,705 (ATP)
$250,000 (WTA)
JULY 18-24 , 2016

RESULTS – JULY 17, 2016

Mens
Qualifying Singles – Second Round

Qualifying – [10] E. Escobedo (USA) d [1] D. Novikov (USA) 76(3) 64

Qualifying – [2] V. Millot (FRA) d [9] A. Falla (COL) 67(3) 75 41 Retired

Qualifying – [3] J. Donaldson (USA) d [11] M. Matosevic (AUS) 76(9) 64

Qualifying – [4] R. Harrison (USA) d [8] A. Weintraub (ISR) 64 63

Qualifying – [12] A. Kuznetsov (USA) d [5] M. Barton (AUS) 64 63

Qualifying – [6] J. Duckworth (AUS) d [7] A. Sarkissian (USA) 46 76(5) 62

Mens
Qualifying Doubles – Second Round

Qualifying – [2] [PR] B. Baker (USA) / A. Krajicek (USA) d R. Harrison (USA) / D. Novikov (USA) 46 64 10-8

Women’s
Qualifying Singles – Second Round

Qualifying – [1] L. Zhu (CHN) d S. Marand (USA) 62 63

Qualifying – [WC] V. Flink (RUS) d [2] H. Kuwata (JPN) 06 62 64

Qualifying – [3] A. Kudryavtseva (RUS) d [6] S. Xu (CHN) 63 64

Qualifying – L. Albanese (USA) d [8] S. Aoyama (JPN) 75 61

ORDER OF PLAY – MONDAY, JULY 18, 2016

CENTER COURT start 1:50 pm

WTA – [1] S. Stosur (AUS) vs [Q] A. Kudryavtseva (RUS)

Not Before 4:00 pm

ATP – D. Evans (GBR) vs B. Becker (GER)

Not Before 5:00 pm

ATP – D. Kudla (USA) vs J. Millman (AUS)

Not Before 7:00 pm

ATP – D. Sela (ISR) vs T. Fritz (USA)

ATP – A. Mannarino (FRA) vs [WC] F. Tiafoe (USA)

GRANDSTAND 1 start 2:00 pm

WTA – [7] Y. Wickmayer (BEL) vs M. Brengle (USA)

Not Before 4:00 pm

ATP – [Q] J. Duckworth (AUS) vs T. Smyczek (USA)

Not Before 5:00 pm

ATP – Y. Sugita (JPN) vs V. Pospisil (CAN)

Not Before 7:00 pm

WTA – [LL] H. Kuwata (JPN) vs C. Wozniacki (DEN)

WTA – [WC] F. Abanda (CAN) vs [WC] U. Arconada (USA)

GRANDSTAND 2 start 4:00 pm

ATP – [Q] A. Kuznetsov (USA) vs B. Fratangelo (USA)

ATP – [Q] V. Millot (FRA) vs [Q] J. Donaldson (USA)

WTA – [6] Y. Putintseva (KAZ) vs [Q] V. Flink (RUS)

WTA – A. Wozniak (CAN) vs [WC] J. Pegula (USA)

COURT 1 start 4:00 pm

WTA – [Q] L. Zhu (CHN) vs S. Zhang (CHN)

WTA – After Suitable Rest – M. Brengle (USA) / S. Crawford (USA) vs I. Falconi (USA) / D. Lao (USA)

ATP – J. Thompson (AUS) vs V. Estrella Burgos (DOM

Day 1 Qualifying Recap 2016 @CitiOpen : Falla Wins Battle

Posted by Admin on July 17, 2016

Posted in: ATP, ATP Qualifying, Citi Open, Steen Kirby, Washington. Tagged: 2016 Citi Open, 2016 Citi Open Qualifying, Alejandro Falla, ATP Washington, Citi Open, Citi Open Qualifying, mackenzie mcdonald, raveena kingsley, WTA Washington. Leave a comment

Day 1 Qualifying Recap at 2016 Citi Open: Falla Wins Battle
Steen Kirby, Tennis Atlantic

Falla

A steamy day 1 at the 2016 Citi Open Qualifying held true to form, as most of the favored players advanced with ease into the second round of qualifying matches. On the ATP side, Matthew Barton, Alex Kuznetsov, Alexander Sarkissian, Marinko Matosevic, James Duckworth, Ernesto Escobedo and Amir Weintraub all turned away their opponents without dropping a set, or facing the threat of doing so.

The lone competitive qualifying match on the men’s side today was Alejandro Falla’s 6-3 3-6 7-6(4) victory over Mackenzie McDonald. The veteran took to stadium court, and was more consistent than his younger opponent. McDonald was relatively strong on serve, but spewed too many groundstroke errors when it counted, and although Falla squandered break point chances in the third set, including a match point up 5-4 on his opponent’s serve, he went on to win the final set tiebreak. Prior to that tiebreak, both games featured breaks of serve, and McDonald was broken serving for the match. With more ATP experience, McDonald will be able to convert tiring battles from losses, into wins, but as it stands he appeared to slow down his game in the heat.

Jennifer Elie

The WTA matches were generally closer. Jennifer Elie, playing in her fifth qualifying in Washington, lost in three to Lin Zhu. Jarmila Wolfe (formerly Gajdosova and Groth) played her first match since undergoing shoulder surgery and made it three sets against Hiroko Kuwata of Japan before Kuwata pulled away decisively in the third set, 6-4, 7-5, 6-0. 17-year-old Raveena Kingsley, who resides just 40 miles away in Baltimore, also went three, with another Japanese player, Shuko Aoyoma, also serving up a bagel in the final stanza and winning 6-3, 2-6, 6-0. Alla Kudryavtseva, known locally for playing WTT tennis for the Washington Kastles in 2013, was a three set winner against Danielle Lao, 7-5, 3-6, 6-3. Varvara Flink, Sanaz Marand, Shilin Xu and Lauren Albanese were also winners.

Raveena Kingsley (Photo: @tennis_shots Christopher Levy)

2016 Citi Open Qualifying Preview
Steen Kirby, Tennis Atlantic

2016 Citi Open ATP and WTA qualifying starts Saturday, as does Tennis Atlantic’s comprehensive weeklong coverage of the tournament. Here is a look at standouts set to feature in the qualifying draws.

ATP Washington Qualifying

Four ATP events this week, and the end of Davis Cup play, and three ATP tournaments last week means that the player field for Citi Open ATP qualifying was stretched thin. There are six qualifying spots, and four of them are being contested by three players each.

Wimbledon qualifier Dennis Novikov, a former top junior player, has just one ATP win this year, but he’s been solid in challengers and ATP qualifying, and he’s the top seed for qualifying at the Citi Open (#128). 20 year old American Ernesto Escobedo stands in his way. Escobedo is a rising young player who made his ATP debut in Nottingham after qualifying this year. Escobedo will open with local Citi Open practice court partner Leon Vessels in his first match, before facing Novikov.

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French veteran Vincent Millot has a recent challenger final on his resume, and gets a bye, before facing either young American Mackenzie McDonald or Colombian veteran Alejandro Falla. McDonald, a recent NCAA champion at UCLA, hasn’t won a pro match this season, while Falla has been in poor form himself, making that match an intriguing one as both players look for form before facing Millot.

19 year old American Jared Donaldson is 0-4 at the ATP level this year, and he’ll be eager to find some form in Washington. He’s still the favorite to qualify against either doubles specialist Scott Lipsky, or former top 40 Australian Marinko Matosevic. Matosevic hasn’t reached an ATP main draw this year, and desperately wants to return to top tier tennis.

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Despite some solid weeks earlier in the season, the now 24 year old Ryan Harrison has been struggling for weeks and has to be happy to return to his favored hard courts. Virginia’s Ryan Shane faces Israeli journeyman favorite Amir Weintraub in round 1 qualifying before facing Harrison, who is the favorite in his section.

Australia’s Matthew Barton will face local high schooler Nikita-Girey Demir of Bethesda, Maryland. Barton has been solid on the challenger tour level this year, and is 3-3 in ATP main draw play this season. Barton should face veteran American journeyman Alex Kuznetsov in round 2 qualifying, presuming veteran doubles specialist Eric Butorac doesn’t provide much resistance for Kuznetsov. Kuznetsov qualified in Newport and has been in good form in recent weeks.

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Former UGA Bulldog Nate Pasha faces Alexander Sarkissian, who hasn’t had near as good of a season this year, compared to 2015. The winner of that match should face a struggling James Duckworth, who hasn’t won a match in two months, Duckworth opens with standout high schooler Ulises Blanch.

Play over the weekend will determine the six qualifiers who will enter the main draw.

WTA Washington Qualifying

WTA qualifying has four main draw spots on offer, and a full qualifying draw as a result. The top seed is Lin Zhu of China, who is still looking for her WTA breakthrough. Zhu faces an in-form Jennifer Elie in round 1, with the in-form Ksenia Lykina or Sanaz Marand to follow.

Struggling Hiroko Kuwata will face Jarmila Wolfe, who has played sparingly this season. Young Varvara Flink will face a struggling Zhaoxuan Yang, and the winners of both of those matches will compete for a qualifying spot.

Former WTA main draw regular Alla Kudryavtseva is perhaps the best known player in WTA qualifying this year. The 28 year old faces Danielle Lao. She’s the favorite but she needs to find form before facing Shilin Xu, a recent Bucharest qualifier, or Victoria Kan.

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The ITF level Shuko Aoyama will face Raveena Kingsley, a young blue chip high schooler, and Maryland resident, looking to make her mark at her home tournament. The winner will face American Lauren Albanese, or a struggling Miyu Kato for the final qualifying spot.

Enjoy our coverage of the 2016 Citi Open this week!