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It’s Hardware Sunday at @CitiOpen

Posted by Admin on August 8, 2021
Posted in: ATP, Citi Open, Washington. Tagged: , , , , , , , , . Leave a comment
Citi Open, Credit: Ryan Loco

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.

(Photo by Peter Staples)

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: , , , , , , , , . 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.

(Photo by Peter Staples, Citi Open)

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.”

(Photo by Peter Staples, Citi Open)

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.

Photo by Mike Lawrence for the Citi Open

“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: , , , , , , , , , , , . 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.

Photo: Christopher Levy, @Tennis_Shots

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: , , , , , , , , , , , , . 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.

Reilly Opelka

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.

Locals Play @CitiOpen Tuesday, Nakashima Turns 20, @NickKyrgios Needs Points

Posted by Admin on August 3, 2021
Posted in: ATP, Citi Open, Washington. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , . 1 Comment
Nick Kyrgios, 2019 Citi Open (Photo: Mike Renz)

Locals Play Citi Open Tuesday, Nakashima Turns 20, Kyrgios Needs Points

  • Nick Kyrgios begins his Citi Open title defense against Mackenzie McDonald. Kyrgios needs three wins this week to reach his first ATP Tour quarter-final since the 2019 Citi Open, where he saved a match point against Stefanos Tsitsipas and defeated Daniil Medvedev in two tiebreaks for the title.
  • On Monday, Kyrgios dropped 250 of his 500 points from the 2019 Citi Open and fell to No. 77 – his lowest spot in the FedEx ATP Rankings since he reached the 2014 Wimbledon quarter-finals as a 144th-ranked wild card.
  • Frances Tiafoe, who learned how to play tennis eight miles from the Citi Open, returns to his home event on Tuesday for a second-round match against countryman Jenson Brooksby. Tiafoe, who trained in nearby College Park, Maryland, won a round in singles and doubles for Team USA at the Tokyo Olympics last week. 
  • Tiafoe isn’t the only local who will play in front of friends and family on Stadium Court. Denis Kudla, who also trained at the Junior Tennis Champions Center in College Park, faces Feliciano Lopez in the first round. Kudla fell to Tiafoe in the Nottingham Challenger final on 13 June after teaming with him twice at the Citi Open.
Denis Kudla, 2019 US Open (Photo: TennisAtlantic.com)
  • In another opening-round match, Brandon Nakashima celebrates his 20th birthday against Alexei Popyrin. Nakashima is coming off back-to-back ATP 250 finals at Los Cabos and Atlanta. He became the youngest American to advance to multiple finals since Andy Roddick went 5-2 in finals as a teenager from 2001-02.
  • Nakashima is joined on Grandstand Court by Cameron Norrie, who defeated him in the Los Cabos final on 24 July. Norrie, who meets Marcos Giron in the second round, is tied with Andrey Rublev for third on tour with 36 victories in 2021. Only Tsitsipas (42) and World No. 1 Novak Djokovic (38) have more wins this season. —-ATP

Qualifying in Queens: 10 Americans Awarded @CincyTennis Wild Cards

Posted by Admin on August 7, 2020
Posted in: ATP, Cincinnati, New York, US Open, WTA. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , . Leave a comment
Ten Americans Among Wild Card Recipients for Western & Southern Open Qualifying 

Cincy Media Center

The Queen City. Borough of Queens. Fuhgeddaboutit!

CINCINNATI (AUGUST 7, 2020) – The Western & Southern Open has awarded 11 wild cards to its qualifying field, with 10 Americans – including one Cincinnatian – among the recipients.
The five men and six women round out the 48-player qualifying fields. Two rounds of qualifying matches will be held Aug. 20-21, with a dozen women and 12 men joining the main draws, which will begin Aug. 22. All tournament action will take place at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in New York.
Cincinnati native JJ Wolf, who played at Ohio State, will be joined in ATP Tour qualifying by Sebastian Korda, Mackenzie McDonald, Michael Mmoh and Brandon Nakashima. Ohio State standout Francesca Di Lorenzo joins the WTA qualifying field along with CiCi Bellis, Anna Kalinskaya, Ann Li, Shelby Rogers and Katie Volynets.
Wolf owns four career Challenger titles and has been victorious in three of his last five events dating back to last season. He was 14-2 with two titles during the first two months of this year before play was suspended due to the pandemic. Wolf turned pro in 2019 after going 35-2 and earning Big Ten Player of the Year honors as a junior at Ohio State University. A graduate of Cincinnati Country Day, the 21-year-old will play Western & Southern Open qualifying for the third time in his career.

Sebastian Korda, 2018 AO Boy's Champion

Sebastian Korda, 2018 AO Boy’s Champion

Korda is a 20-year-old Floridian who reached a pair of Challenger finals last season. In 2018, he was the Australian Open junior champion. His father, Petr, won the 1998 Australian Open and was a two-time Western & Southern Open quarterfinalist (1992, 98).

Mackenzie McDonald, 2018 Citi Open (Photo: Tennis Atlantic)

Mackenzie McDonald, 2018 Citi Open (Photo: Tennis Atlantic)

McDonald, who owns a pair of Challenger titles, posted his best ATP result in early 2019 with a semifinal in Delray Beach. His season was then cut short due to a hamstring injury which kept him out of action until the start of the 2020 campaign. The former UCLA Bruin was the nation’s No. 1 collegiate player in 2016, a season he capped by winning the NCAA Singles and Doubles titles. Before enrolling at UCLA, McDonald became the third unranked player to qualify for an ATP Masters 1000 when he did so at the 2013 Western & Southern Open. This year the 25-year-old Californian is seeking his third main draw appearance at the tournament.
Mmoh owns five career Challenger titles, including last fall in Knoxville after he missed four months earlier in 2019 with injury. The 22-year-old Florida resident suffered the injury after a 2018 campaign that included quarterfinals at ATP events in Brisbane and Los Cabos along with a pair of Challenger titles. He was the USTA Boy’s 18s National Championship winner in 2016.
nakashima-wtt
Nakashima burst onto the pro scene in February with a run to the quarterfinals at Delray Beach in his ATP debut. He has reached the semifinals at three ATP Challenger Tour events since turning professional in the summer of 2019. The 19-year-old Californian was named ACC Freshman of the Year last year while playing for the University of Virginia.
Francesca DiLorenzo, 2019 Citi Open (TennisAtlantic.com)
Di Lorenzo was a two-time Big Ten Player of the Year and won an NCAA doubles championship during her career at Ohio State. As a professional, she has reached the second round at the US Open in each of the past two seasons. Born in Pittsburgh, the 23-year-old Di Lorenzo was raised in Columbus, Ohio. Her sister, Cristina, was a two-time All Big East honoree while playing tennis at Xavier University.

Cici Bellis, Charleston (Photo: Steve Fogleman/TennisAtlantic)

Cici Bellis

Bellis has reached the third round at three of the four Majors, most recently at this year’s Australian Open. The 21-year-old Californian is working her way back after undergoing four surgeries in 2018-19 on her right arm. The 2014 USTA Girl’s 18s National Champion, Bellis finished that year as the No. 1 ranked junior in the world.
Anna Kalinskaya, 2019 Citi Open (TennisAtlantic.com)
Kalinskaya is a seven-time winner on the ITF Circuit. In the second half of 2019, she posted her best career WTA results with a semifinal at Washington, D.C., and a quarterfinal at Tashkent. The 21-year-old Russian’s parents were both professional badminton players.
Li reached five finals while posting more than 40 match wins on the ITF Circuit in 2019. Early this season she made her Grand Slam tournament debut as a qualifier at the Australian Open. In 2017, she finished as runner-up in the Wimbledon Girls’ Championship. The 20-year-old Pennsylvania native owns two career ITF Circuit titles.

Shelby Rogers, 2017 Volvo Car Open (Photo: Tony Callaio, Tennis Atlantic)

Shelby Rogers, 2017 Volvo Car Open (Photo: Tony Callaio, Tennis Atlantic)

Rogers has twice been a finalist at WTA events. The South Carolina native claimed her sixth career ITF Circuit title earlier this year in Midland, Michigan. A quarterfinalist at the 2016 French Open, Rogers battled knee injuries before undergoing an operation in 2018 that sidelined for over one year. As a junior, she was the 2010 USTA Girl’s 18s National Champion.
Volynets won the 2019 USTA Girl’s 18s National Championship and in doing so, earned a wild card into the US Open where she faced eventual champion Bianca Andreescu in the opening round. The 18-year-old Californian closed the 2019 season by reaching her first ITF Circuit final. As a junior, she reached the 2017 US Open quarterfinals.

American @MackieMackster McDonald to Face “Rusty” @Andy_Murray Tonight @CitiOpen; Interview

Posted by Admin on July 30, 2018
Posted in: ATP, Citi Open, College Tennis, Washington. Tagged: , , , , , , . Leave a comment

American @MackieMackster McDonald to Face “Rusty” @Andy_Murray Tonight @CitiOpen; Interview
Steve Fogleman, Tennis Atlantic

Mackenzie McDonald is loving the hard courts summer. And he had some confidence headed into tonight’s showdown with two-time grand slam champion Andy Murray when we spoke with him on Sunday afternoon at the Citi Open in Washington.

“I love that (hard court season) is in the states so we get a good crowd cheering on all the Americans,” he said. “I definitely grew up on hard courts and I love hardcourts and I think it suits my game. It’s definitely a good time to be in the States during the Summer.”

mcdonald ucla

As far as battling Murray in his next match, McDonald said, “He’s obviously a great player, has had a great career so far. He’s a grand slam champion so it’s gonna be pretty cool sharing the court with him.”

McDonald seems to like his chances against Murray. “He’s a little rusty. I think there are definitely some positives for me going into the match. I think I’m playing really good tennis so it should be a good match.”

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: , , , , , , , , . Leave a comment

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

Alejandro Falla

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, Washington 2012, Copyright TennisEastCoast.com

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)

Raveena Kingsley (Photo: @tennis_shots Christopher Levy)

 

2016 @CitiOpen Qualifying Preview

Posted by Admin on July 16, 2016
Posted in: ATP, ATP Qualifying, Citi Open, Steen Kirby, Washington, WTA. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , . Leave a comment

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!

 

NCAA Champ McDonald (@MackieMackster) & @SamCrawford18 Nab Wild Cards to @CitiOpen

Posted by Admin on July 13, 2016
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NCAA Champ McDonald & Samantha Crawford Nab Wild Cards to 2016 Citi Open
mcdonald ucla

WASHINGTON (July 13, 2016) — Mackenzie “Mackie” McDonald, who captured both the singles and doubles NCAA Championship, has received an ATP singles qualifying wild card into the Citi Open® Tennis Tournament. Qualifying play will begin Saturday, July 16, at the Rock Creek Park Tennis Center.

McDonald, 21, is the first player in 15 years to win both the singles and doubles NCAA Championship while attending UCLA. He is a three-time All-American, 2016 ITA National Men’s College Player of the Year, and in 2013 at age 18, became the first unranked player in ATP history to qualify for an ATP Masters 1000 tournament.

He replaces Thanasi Kokkinakis, who previously received a qualifying wild card, but had to withdraw to recover from a shoulder injury.

Sam Crawford Courtesy USTA

Sam Crawford (Photo: USTA)

In the women’s field, 21-year-old Samantha Crawford will receive a WTA singles main draw wild card. The Atlanta, Ga., native reached the second round at the 2016 Wimbledon Championships, her first Grand Slam win. Varvara Flink joins the women’s qualifying rounds with a wild card.

—S. Pegarido, Citi Open