Jannik Sinner

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It’s Hardware Sunday at @CitiOpen

Posted by Admin on August 8, 2021

It’s Hardware Sunday at Citi Open

Steve Fogleman in Washington

Sunday caps off one of the most exciting years yet for the 52-year-old Citi Open in Washington, as a week of frenetic play under pristine August weather comes to a close with hardware handed out for singles and doubles champions and finalists. In a perfect world, Rafael Nadal would appear at tonight’s singles final and bite the winner’s trophy to guarantee its authenticity, but it is not to be.

Jannik Sinner and Mackenzie McDonald have both played a high level of tennis all week long and deserve to be on the stage today. Sinner’s the prohibitive -380 favorite in Vegas, but McDonald is far and away the sentimental favorite.

McDonald’s press conference gave us a peek into the troughs of pro tennis. After 2019 injuries and COVID-19 sidelined and then isolated him, he could put no positive spin on it. “No. Honestly, it was a really painful time, really super tough,” he said forlornly. “It was really rough. I had no idea what to expect. I didn’t know. I was away from family, too. I was lucky. My girlfriend’s father was able to spend time with me, he’s retired, and helped me. I couldn’t walk and drive myself and do anything”, he continued. “I had an apartment on the third floor and no elevator. It was pretty shitty. So, yeah, I didn’t know where I was going to be two years later. Like I said, I have always worked hard, always put in the work. A little bit older, too, and it’s helping.”

You just don’t hear real-life stories like that every day. He’s playing for his first ATP tour level title with his heart on his sleeve. Meanwhile, Sinner vies for his biggest trophy to date, having notched 250 titles in Sofia and Melbourne Park. Given the emotion that McDonald’s playing with like house money and the stingy odds on Sinner, the only punt to make today is for the American.

And Then There Were Four: @CitiOpen Semifinals Feature Young Talent and One @KeiNishikori

Posted by Admin on August 7, 2021

Posted in: ATP, Citi Open, Washington. Tagged: atp tour, Citi Open, Jannik Sinner, Jenson Brooksby, Kei Nishikori, mackenzie mcdonald, olympics, us open, washington. Leave a comment

Photo by Mike Lawrence for the Citi Open

And Then There Were Four: Citi Open Semifinals Feature Young Talent and One Kei Nishikori

Steve Fogleman in Washington

It’s been a week of upsets at the Citi Open in Washington all the way to the semifinals with only one seeded player remaining. I’m feeling that the upsets end today with two favorites advancing to tomorrow’s ATP 500 final.

Jenson Brooksby continued his march through Washington on Friday night by doing to John Millman what he’s been doing all week: baffle top talent. Asked if he is surprising other players, he said, “I don’t know exactly what goes through their minds. I’m not surprising myself, but I think — I mean, I think they, by now, people know what to expect in general, but, I mean, I think I still am surprising them.”

Should we add Jannik Sinner to the list of those who aren’t ready to beat Brooksby? Sinner’s aware of the threat. “I think he’s a very tricky player,” he said yesterday. “He is maybe in the best moment of his young, young career, you know, playing the best tennis. He is, yeah, in confidence.”

Sinner hits the practice courts after matches and skipped the Olympics in order to improve his game in time for the big US Open Series tournaments in August. I predict Brooksby’s amazing run through the top brass ends today on the racquet of the Italian.

Kei Nishikori flew in from Tokyo and did a lot of damage to his opponents all week. In prior editions of the Citi Open, Kei has been the superstar of this event and is a 2017 champion here. That’s why it seemed so strange this week as he practiced, played and won in an under-the-radar fashion thanks to the Rafa Effect. That jet lag is long gone which means Nishikori’s game is getting better every day.

“I was a little bit tired after coming from Japan,” he said in post-match press last night, “but I had a couple days’ rest. It wasn’t easy, obviously. I had only maybe three days or four days to play first match, but I able to manage, you know, fight through first couple rounds. Now I’m feeling good again.”

I’m picking Nishikori to advance to tomorrow’s final. We’ll see you then.

It’s Back to Business as a Normal ATP 500 for @CitiOpen

Posted by Admin on August 6, 2021

Posted in: ATP, Citi Open, Washington. Tagged: atp tour, Citi Open, denis kudla, Jannik Sinner, Jenson Brooksby, John Millman, Kei Nishikori, Lloyd Harris, mackenzie mcdonald, Steve Johnson, US Open Series, washington. 1 Comment

It’s Back to Business as a Normal ATP 500 for @CitiOpen

Steve Fogleman, Tennis Atlantic

Well, the Rafael Nadal hangover is still around, if only for a day. After Nadal’s exit from the Citi Open in Washington last night, there’s a collective sense of loss and exhaustion from the electricity he brought to this ATP 500 event. However, there are eight excellent quarterfinal matches on tap today and storylines still abound.

Let’s stat with Denis Kudla. On Monday, he said that he’d underachieved in his career. Three wins later and Kudla is looking to make his first hometown tournament semifinal today. He went through a tortuous period from 2008-2017, where the DC local went 0-8 in qualifying and first round losses. To make his first ATP Tour final in DC would be a real silver lining for him and the Citi Open. After beating Brandon Nakashima, who’d been playing near perfect tennis, I predict that he will be the semifinalist from this All-American match.

Steve Johnson has been beating the odds all week, first by taking out tournament #3 seed Alex DeMinaur and following it up with a lights-out win over Ricardas Berankis yesterday. Today, he’ll face longer odds as he tries to unseat the highest remaining seeded player, #5 Jannik Sinner, to book his third Citi Open semifinal. That may be a tall order for Johnson, as Sinner looks unbeatable.

Jenson Brooksby continues to dazzle. Jenson’s July was only a pretext of what was to come here in Washington. He has knocked off #16 seed Tiafoe and #2 seed Felix Auger-Aliassime and today he faces #11 seed John Millman. Brooksby hasn’t dropped a set all week, but today I am predicting that Millman will end Brooksby’s impressive Citi Open run.

Finally, Kei Nishikori and Lloyd Harris square off for the last semifinal berth. This one is a big question mark as both players may begin to feel some exhaustion set in after last night’s three set wins. Harris looked great out there, but will there be a letdown coming off of his greatest win yet? Kei Nishikori, who has been the rockstar of Citi Opens past, is a bit of an under-the-radar player this week. That said, I’m going to tip his way to reach the semis.

It’s R16 Thursday at @CitiOpen

Posted by Admin on August 5, 2021

Posted in: ATP, Citi Open, Washington. Tagged: 2021 Citi Open, ATP Tour 2021, Brandon Nakashima, Cameron Norrie, Felix Auger-Aliassime, Ilya Ivashka, Jannik Sinner, Jenson Brooksby, mackenzie mcdonald, rafael nadal, Reilly Opelka, Sebastian Korda, washington. Leave a comment

**Photo Credit:** Peter Staples/Citi Open, Mike Lawrence/Citi Open, Ryan Loco/Citi Open

It’s R16 Thursday at @CitiOpen

Steve Fogleman, Tennis Atlantic

It’s hard to bust through Nadal’s wild opening win in Washington last night, but many other players advanced to the Round of 16 yesterday at the Citi Open and they’re ready for battle today in what is traditionally the best day of this tournament. Eight singles matches will determine the warriors of the weekend with the right to claim an ATP 500 title.

American players are common at American events, and that should surprise no one. In recent years, though, most of them are knocked out in early rounds by higher-ranked international players. This year is different Of the 15 Americans in the draw, seven advanced to the third round – the most at the Citi Open since eight in 1993. You can’t ask for more than that as a local fan. and you still have a chance to see six Americans in the quarterfinals and guaranteed to have one American in there as countrymen Denis Kudla and Brandon Nakashima do battle today for one of those spots. Nakashima is 10-2 since July 19.

Brandon Nakashima (Photo by Peter Staples, Citi Open)

Other opening matches today include Steve Johnson against Ricardas Berankis and Next Gen stars Jannik Sinner taking on Sebastian Korda, who are collectively aged 40 years.

Late afternoon matches feature Kei Nishikori against Cameron Norrie, Reilly Opelka facing off against John Millman, and another Next Gen showdown with a pair of 20-year-olds: #2 seed Felix Auger Aliassime and Jenson Brooksby. Ilya Ivashka and Mackenzie McDonald will fight for a quarterfinal berth in the early evening match before all eyes turn to Stadium Court for Rafael Nadal and Lloyd Harris, the #14 seed.