US Open Series

Deep @CincyTennis Qualifying Has Six 2021 Tournament Champions…and One @Sloanestephens

Posted by Admin on July 29, 2021

Posted in: ATP, Cincinnati, Western & Southern Open. Tagged: 2021 Western & Southern Open, ATP 1000, cincinnati, Leylah Fernandez, Maria Camila Osorio Serrano, Master's 1000, Sara Sorribes Tormo, Sebastian Korda, US Open Series, WTA 1000. Leave a comment

Deep @CincyTennis Qualifying Has Six 2021 Tournament Champions…and One @Sloanestephens

CINCINNATI, Ohio (July 28, 2021) – Six players who have won tour titles this season highlight the qualifying field entrants for the 2021 Western & Southern Open.

The qualifying tournament occurs during Opening Weekend, presented by Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center, Aug. 14-15. Fifteen players – seven women and eight men – will advance out of the two-round qualifying tournament into the 56-player main draw fields for the Western & Southern Open.

Four players who have won WTA titles in 2021 highlight the women’s qualifying field, including Sara Sorribes Tormo (Guadalajara), Liudmila Samsonova (Berlin), 18-year-old Leylah Fernandez (Monterrey) and 19-year-old Maria Camila Osorio Serrano (Bogota).

The field also includes Olympic quarterfinalist Camila Giorgi, who is fresh off two singles wins over opponents ranked in the top 15. Former US Open champion and 2017 WTA Comeback Player of the Year Sloane Stephens has also entered the qualifying field.

Carlos Alcaraz and Sebastian Korda have claimed titles on the ATP tour in 2021, with Alcaraz, 18, winning in Umag and Korda conquering the championship in Parma. The 21-year-old Korda is the son of two-time Western & Southern Open quarterfinalist Petr Korda.
The men’s qualifying field also features players who went deep in previous Western & Southern Opens, including Jan-Lennard Struff (2020 Quarterfinals), Richard Gasquet (2019 Semifinals) and Yoshihito Nishioka (2019 Quarterfinals).

An additional four players will be awarded wild cards for each qualifying field while an additional three players may join the ATP field through a special exemption.

Dominic Thiem and Stan Wawrinka have both withdrawn from the ATP main draw entry list due to injuries. Alternates John Millman and Dusan Lajovic will now join the field.

While the qualifying matches take place over opening weekend, many main draw players will also be on the grounds practicing. The main draw action begins Sunday for the ATP with a full slate of main draw play on top from Monday, Aug. 16. The full schedule is available here.

All tickets, including full series, mini-plans, single session and hospitality packages, are now on sale and information about available tickets can be found here.

The Western & Southern Open will be held Aug. 14-22, with first serve taking place at 10 a.m. on Aug. 14 for the qualifying tournament. The men’s and women’s singles finals will take place on Sunday, Aug. 22.
The schedule is available here.

The Western & Southern Open, an ATP Masters 1000 and a WTA 1000, is part of the US Open Series and is held at the Lindner Family Tennis Center in Mason, Ohio.

Tennis Superstar @RafaelNadal to Make @CitiOpen Debut on Wednesday, August 4, 2021

Posted by Admin on July 29, 2021

Posted in: ATP, Citi Open, Washington. Tagged: 2021 Citi Open, atp tour, dc, rafael nadal, US Open Series, washington. Leave a comment

Tournament to Showcase Nadal Open Practices for Fans on Stadium Court During Qualifying Weekend, Saturday, July 31 and Sunday, August 1

WASHINGTON D.C. (July 29, 2021) — A month short of a 20-year anniversary marking the professional debut of one of tennis’ most decorated and storied champions, Rafael Nadal is set to descend on our nation’s capital this week to make his first Citi Open appearance at Rock Creek Park Tennis Center.

The 20-time Grand Slam tournament singles champion and the world’s No. 3-ranked men’s player at present, Nadal arrives on the Citi Open grounds Saturday for practice on Stadium Court during the tournament’s qualifying weekend in preparation for his eagerly anticipated Citi Open debut at 7 p.m. ET on Wednesday, Aug. 4 – a second-round match following a first-round bye. The Citi Open’s full singles draw will be released on Friday.

Nadal, 35, accepted a wild-card entry into the 2021 Citi Open and seeks to earn a career milestone – his 100th ATP Tour title – in Washington D.C. With 88 singles and 11 doubles titles to his iconic name, Nadal’s early Citi Open practice sessions will be on Stadium Court and open to fans. They are scheduled for:

Saturday July 31: 10 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. and 5 p.m. to 7 p.m.
Sunday, Aug. 1 from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. and 5 p.m. to 6 p.m.

The practices are open to ticket holders for the Citi Open’s qualifying weekend and fans are welcome to watch from their Stadium seats. Gates open at 10 a.m. both days and Nadal’s practice schedule is subject to change.

As tickets for all of the Citi Open week are close to sold out, those interested in securing remaining available tickets can use the following link:

https://www.etix.com/ticket/v/16365/citi-open-tennis-tournament-rock-creek-park-tennis-center

“We are thrilled that the top players in the world, like Rafael Nadal, are choosing to play the Citi Open,” said Citi Open Chairman Mark Ein. “We are gaining a reputation for having some of the best fans in tennis and delivering a world class experience for players in the nation’s capital. Having a player like Rafa competing in Washington continues to solidify the Citi Open’s place as one of America’s classic Summer sports events.

“The interest from our community and fans to see Rafa in person has been overwhelming, so we are thrilled to provide a rare opportunity to witness his legendary preparation in a series of open practices on our Stadium Court this weekend. This will provide a once-in-a-lifetime experience for a large number of additional fans that bought tickets to the qualifying rounds to see one of tennis’ all-time greats up close.”

Nadal’s maiden voyage at the Citi Open will mark Nadal’s first ATP event since reaching the semifinals of the French Open at Roland Garros, and it will be his seventh ATP tournament of 2021. The Spaniard won his 87th and 88th ATP singles titles at Barcelona in April and Rome (ATP Masters 1000) in May.

The Citi Open also represents the first tournament in Nadal’s run-up to the US Open, which he has won four times (2010, 2013, 2017, 2019). A fifth US Open title in September would elevate Nadal to the top of the list of all-time Grand Slam singles championships, breaking the tie he currently holds with Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic.

Nadal’s seemingly endless list of championship moments includes an all-time record 13 French Open titles (2005-08, 2010-14, 2017-2020), two Wimbledon titles (2008, 2010), one Australian Open title (2009), two Olympic Gold Medals (singles in 2008, doubles in 2016) and five Davis Cup victories with Spain.

Citi Open fans may follow the tournament’s latest news and activity on Facebook (www.facebook.com/CitiOpen), Twitter and Instagram (@CitiOpen).

—S. Pratt

2021 @CitiOpen Goes to 100% Capacity in Historic Return of Washington’s Summer Tennis Tradition

Posted by Admin on July 15, 2021

Posted in: ATP, Citi Open, Washington. Tagged: 2021 Citi Open, ATP World Tour, Full Capacity, Main Draw, rafael nadal, US Open Series, washington. Leave a comment

Tournament Restores Full Prize Money to Players to Increase Purse by $750,000

Washington (July 15)—DC sports fans and the world’s top tennis players got some exciting news today. This morning, MDE Sports announced that the 2021 Citi Open will be held at full, 100% fan capacity this summer at Washington DC’s Rock Creek Park Tennis Center from July 31 – August 8. The announcement comes after the National Park Service (NPS), which manages Rock Creek Park, issued updated guidelines to enable full capacity for Citi Open Fans and is further evidence that Washington, D.C. is back.

“We are thrilled to be able to invite fans back to Rock Creek Park at full capacity,” said Mark Ein, Citi Open chairman and CEO of MDE Tennis. “This is an exciting development, not just for tennis fans, but the whole DC community. We are grateful to the National Park Service for their long partnership with the event and enabling full capacity for the 2021 Citi Open.”

The development has also enabled organizers to restore full tournament prize money. In order to hold the event at the initial 50 percent fan capacity limit, players agreed to a 40 percent pay reduction. With all fan restrictions lifted and before any additional tickets are sold, MDE Sports proactively increased the total 2021 Citi Open prize money by $750,000, returning the tournament purse to pre-pandemic levels.

“We are especially pleased to be able to pay the players full prize money after a difficult period of time for many on tour,” added Ein. “It is all something we never thought possible just a few months ago. To do this and welcome back fans without any restrictions is a testament to the resilience of this city and our community. We can’t wait to see the faces and hear the roar of full crowds once again. It will be a very special moment in the history of this great tournament.”

“To see this event bounce back from challenges of the last year and announce full prize money for 2021 is fantastic news,” said ATP Chairman Andrea Gaudenzi. “It sends a positive message of recovery for our entire sport. We would like to recognize Mark Ein and the Citi Open team for the hard work and ambition that made this possible.”

The news follows the recent announcement that all-time great Rafael Nadal will begin his bid to win a record-setting 21st Grand Slam at the 2021 Citi open in his Washington debut. With fan attendance originally restricted to 50 percent capacity, tickets were already substantially sold out before the announcement of Nadal went viral. The news topped 1.2 billion media impressions worldwide and has led to overwhelming demand for tickets to see the Spaniard win his 89th ATP title at the historic US Open Series event in DC’s Rock Creek Park.

The tournament’s waitlist for tickets exceeded 6,800 names before fan restrictions were lifted Thursday morning. The revised capacity guidelines have allowed tournament officials to release approximately 3,000 additional daily seats to meet the unprecedented demand at the box office for the event. These tickets will be made available first to fans currently on, or who join, the waitlist on a full tournament basis. To provide greater accessibility, the tournament has reserved a small number of individual session tickets that will be available for sale next week.

In addition to Nadal, the 2021 Citi Open will also feature a star-studded player field comprised of two Top-10, six Top-20, and eleven Top-30 players, including recent Wimbledon semifinalists Hubert Hurkacz and new world No. 10 Denis Shapovalov, quarterfinalists Felix Auger-Aliassime and Karen Khachanov, and defending 2019 Citi Open champion Nick Kyrgios, as well as US Olympic team stars Coco Gauff, Jennifer Brady, and Jessica Pegula, who will headline the inaugural Citi Open Women’s Invitational.

Defending Champions @Madison_Keys, @DaniilMedwed Lead 2020 @CincyTennis Singles Fields

Posted by Admin on July 29, 2020

Posted in: Cincinnati, ATP, WTA, Western & Southern Open. Tagged: novak djokovic, new york, madison keys, US Open Series, Western & Southern Open, Rafa Nadal, Daniil Medvedev, Coronavirus, COVID-19 Tennis. Leave a comment

Main draw play for the Western & Southern Open will begin on Aug. 22. Both singles finals will be held on Friday, Aug. 28, with the WTA final taking place at 2 p.m., and the ATP Tour’s at 4 p.m.

Further details for the 2020 tournament will be announced in the coming weeks, and all aspects of the event are subject to change.

The Battle in the Bronx Heats Up for Quarterfinalists #NYJTLBronxOpen

Posted by Admin on August 22, 2019

Posted in: ATP, Bronx Open, New York, WTA. Tagged: 2019 WTA Bronx Open, Alize Cornet, Anna Blinkova, Bernarda Pera, Camilla Giorgi, Karolina Muchova, Katerina Siniakova, Magda Linette, new york, Qiang Wang, US Open Series. Leave a comment

Wang Qiang, 2019 Bronx Open (Photo: Mike Renz for TennisAtlantic.com)

The Battle in the Bronx Heats Up for Quarterfinalists
Steve Fogleman in the Bronx

It’s been a slow march at the Cary Leeds Center in the Bronx’s Crotona Park as the tournament scheduled four second round matches on Tuesday and Wednesday. Today’s four matches offer the survivors a place in the semifinals as a reward for their perseverance during this hot week in a tournament virtually isolated from the New York they’ve come to know and love.

Magda Linette, 2019 Bronx Open (Photo: Mike Renz for TennisAtlantic.com)

Including qualifying, Magda Linette has won five straight matches on the Bronx courts this week, embarrassing Aliaksandra Sasnovich with a 6-1, 6-4 win yesterday. She’d like to make it six in a row, but 10th seed Karolina Muchova stands in the way. The Czech dispatched the penultimate American in the draw, Kristie Ahn, 6-3, 6-1.

Camilla Giorgi, 2019 Bronx Open (Photo: Mike Renz)

It seems like Camilla Giorgi is on the cusp of another title. After a good run through the draw in Washington, she ended up in the final only to wilt in the notorious heat and humidity there. Coming back from injury, that wasn’t surprising. Her preparation over the last month suggests that she may be ready to rake in her third title. To do it, she’ll need to overcome the player with the most career titles left in the draw, Alize Cornet. It will not surprise me if the winner of this match takes home the Bronx Open gold-plated manhole cover on Saturday.

Wang Qiang has done all she’s needed to do to justify her #1 seeding. A rather routine win against Fiona Ferro yesterday gave her just enough court time to compete well today. Sometimes a bye can be a curse in a tournament, but she showed no signs of rust and should be in good form to edge past Anna Blinkova. The 20-year-old lucky loser stunned Mihaela Buzarnescu on Wednesday.

The last American standing, in singles or doubles, is Bernarda Pera. She’ll face the top seed remaining in the bottom half of the draw, Karolina Muchova. I’m sensing an upset here as Pera’s shown signs of improved confidence with her matchplay this month.

RESULTS – AUGUST 21, 2019

Singles – Second Round
[1] Q. Wang (CHN) d [Q] F. Ferro (FRA) 61 64
[Q] M. Linette (POL) d [9] A. Sasnovich (BLR) 61 64
[10] K. Muchova (CZE) d [WC] K. Ahn (USA) 63 61
[LL] A. Blinkova (RUS) d M. Buzarnescu (ROU) 16 63 63

Doubles – Semifinals
[3] D. Jurak (CRO) / M. Martinez Sanchez (ESP) d [2] H. Chan (TPE) / L. Chan (TPE) 16 63 12-10
Quarterfinals
S. Aoyama (JPN) / A. Krunic (SRB) d R. Olaru (ROU) / Z. Yang (CHN) 06 61 11-9

ORDER OF PLAY – THURSDAY, AUGUST 22, 2019
VICTOR KIAM STADIUM start 11:00 am
[5] K. Siniakova (CZE) vs [WC] B. Pera (USA)
[10] K. Muchova (CZE) vs [Q] M. Linette (POL)
C. Giorgi (ITA) vs A. Cornet (FRA)
[1] Q. Wang (CHN) vs [LL] A. Blinkova (RUS)

PERSHING SQUARE STADIUM start 12:00 pm
M. Gasparyan (RUS) / M. Niculescu (ROU) vs S. Aoyama (JPN) / A. Krunic (SRB)

Qualifying Field Set @CincyTennis

Posted by Admin on July 23, 2019

Posted in: ATP, Cincinnati, Western & Southern Open, WTA. Tagged: 2019 Qualifying, Alexander Bublik, alison riske, ATP World Tour, Barbora Strycova, cincinnati, masters, Reilly Opelka, Ugo Humbert, US Open Series, Western & Southern Open, wta tennis. Leave a comment

WESTERN & SOUTHERN OPEN QUALIFYING FIELDS ANNOUNCED

Qualifying Event Part of First Watch Opening Weekend

Alison Riske (Photo: @Tennis_Shots)

CINCINNATI (July 23, 2019) – Players who have won a total of 11 tour titles this season are among the entrants into the qualifying tournament for the 2019 Western & Southern Open. The qualifying event will take place over First Watch Opening Weekend, August 10-11, at the Lindner Family Tennis Center in Mason, Ohio.

A total of 15 players – seven women and eight men – will advance out of the two-round qualifying tournament into the 56-player main draw fields for the Western & Southern Open.

The winners of seven ATP titles – Nicolas Jarry (Bastad), Juan Ignacio Londero (Cordoba), Feliciano Lopez (Queen’s), Reilly Opelka (New York), Tennys Sandgren (Auckland), Lorenzo Sonego (Antalya) and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (Montpellier) – will be joined by four WTA champions – Polona Hercog (Lugano), Alison Riske (‘s-Hertogenbosch), Elena Rybakina (Bucharest) and Yafan Wang (Acapulco) – in the qualifying fields.

Tsonga

In addition, players in the qualifying fields have combined to reach another 14 tour-level finals in 2019. The women’s field also features a duo coming off deep runs at Wimbledon in semifinalist Barbora Strycova and quarterfinalist Riske.

“The qualifying tournament often provides some of the most compelling action because there is a lot on the line for these players who are battling to reach the main draw,” said Western & Southern Tournament Director Andre Silva. “We think these two days are a great opportunity for our fans to not only see these matches across eight courts but also provide a chance to get up-close-and-personal to main draw competitors who are practicing across the other nine courts.”

Tickets for First Watch Opening Weekend start at $14. Tickets for these and all other sessions of the tournament are on sale now at wsopen.com.

Below are the initial player entry lists for the qualifying fields for the 2019 tournament:

WTA Rank • Name (Nationality) Age

32 Barbora Strycova (Czech Republic) 33

35 Shuai Zhang (China) 30

37 Alison Riske (USA) 29

43 Ajla Tomljanovic (Australia) 26

44 Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova (Russia) 28

45 Monica Puig (Puerto Rico) 25

48 Ekaterina Alexandrova (Russia) 24

49 Viktoria Kuzmova (Slovakia) 21

50 Kristina Mladenovic (France) 26

52 Yafan Wang (China) 25

53 Alize Cornet (France) 29

54 Polona Hercog (Slovenia) 28

55 Veronika Kudermetova (Russia) 22

57 Margarita Gasparyan (Russia) 24

58 Mihaela Buzarnescu (Romania) 31

59 Ons Jabeur (Tunisia) 24

60 Magda Linette (Poland) 27

61 Iga Swiatek (Poland) 18

64 Anastasia Potapova (Russia) 18

65 Elena Rybakina (Kazakhstan) 20

67 Kateryna Kozlova (Ukraine) 25

68 Kaia Kanepi (Estonia) 34

69 Viktorija Golubic (Switzerland) 26

70 Rebecca Peterson (Sweden) 23

71 Tatjana Maria (Germany) 31

73 Lauren Davis (USA) 25

74 Bernarda Pera (USA) 24

76 Jennifer Brady (USA) 24

ATP Rank • Name (Nationality) Age

38 Nicolas Jarry (Chile) 23

43 Jordan Thompson (Australia) 25

44 Hubert Hurkacz (Poland) 22

45 Mikhail Kukushkin (Kazakhstan) 31

46 Ugo Humbert (France) 21

49 Joao Sousa (Portugal) 30

50 Marton Fucsovics (Hungary) 27

52 Lorenzo Sonego (Italy) 24

54 Cameron Norrie (Great Britain) 23

55 Dan Evans (Great Britain) 29

56 Juan Ignacio Londero (Argentina) 25

57 Reilly Opelka (USA) 21

59 Pablo Carreno Busta (Spain) 28

60 Feliciano Lopez (Spain) 37

61 John Millman (Australia) 30

62 Martin Klizan (Slovakia) 30

66 Miomir Kecmanovic (Serbia) 19

67 Federico Delbonis (Argentina) 28

68 Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (France) 34

69 Casper Ruud (Norway) 20

70 Tennys Sandgren (USA) 28

71 Alexander Bublik (Kazakhstan) 22

72 Philipp Kohlschreiber (Germany) 35

73 Yoshihito Nishioka (Japan) 23

Four players will be added to each of these fields through wild card entries.

In 2018, the Western & Southern Open attracted more than 194,000 spectators. The reigning singles champions are ATP No. 1 Novak Djokovic and WTA No. 5 Kiki Bertens. In addition to the tennis, the W&S Open features more than 50 musical acts, 20 food vendors, six signature bar areas and a retail plaza for patrons to enjoy between matches.

The Western & Southern Open is an ATP Masters 1000 and a WTA Premier 5 tournament and is a member of the US Open Series. Started in 1899, the tournament annually supports a number of charities in the Cincinnati area.

—W&S Open

Former Champs John Isner and Nick Kyrgios The Top Seeds at ATP Atlanta 2018
Steen Kirby,Tennis Atlantic

The 2018 US Open Series kicks off in Atlanta as top caliber ATP Tennis returns stateside with the 250 stop in the tennis capital of the American South. Here is your full preview, with predictions.

Top Half:

John Isner is seeking a 5th Atlanta Open title, the defending champion is doing so from a career high #8 ranking. His first match should come against Alex De Minaur or lucky loser Hubert Hurkacz, both are promising players, but Isner’s serve on the Atlanta hard courts should be too much for them.

Embed from Getty Images

Local favorite Emil Reinberg (University of Georgia), faces tour veteran Mikhail Youzhny in the opening round. Newport semifinalist Tim Smyczek drew Nottingham champion Mischa Zverev with Zverev most likely to go through to face Isner in the quarters, with Isner a heavy favorite.

Embed from Getty Images

American young gun Frances Tiafoe will begin against Marius Copil, with Alex Bolt or Marcos Baghdatis waiting on deck. Tiafoe has had the best season of his career already and should ease past Copil and Bolt to reach the quarters.

Embed from Getty Images

Now 30, Matt Ebden has gotten himself to the point he’s now a top 4 seed in an ATP tournament. Ebden will have a tough test against either big serving Ivo Karlovic or a struggling Donald Young in round 2. Karlovic is in the twilight of his career and hasn’t had a good season, so Ebden should be a slight favorite in his section with Tiafoe winning their quarterfinal to reach the semis.

Bottom Half:

Nick Kyrgios won the 2016 title in Atlanta, to reach that stage again he’ll likely have to get past his friend and countryman Thanasi Kokkinakis, presuming Kokkinakis defeats fellow qualifier Noah Rubin in round 1. Kyrgios when healthy is hard to stop so he should get past Kokkinakis and also Jeremy Chardy (or Cam Norrie) in the quarters. Chardy opens with Ricardas Berankis, while Norrie drew a struggling Malek Jaziri.

Embed from Getty Images

A finalist last year, Ryan Harrison faces James Duckworth in his opening match this year in dire need of a form boost. Harrison should beat Duckworth but Lukas Lacko presents a tougher challenge. Lacko draws Prajnesh Gunneswaran in round 1. I have Harrison going through to the quarters against Hyeon Chung.

Chung, when fit, has already shown what a dangerous player he can be. The Korean #1 faces Taylor Fritz or Ramkumar Ramanathan in round 2. Fritz should beat a tired Ramanthan but Chung will be favored to reach the semis.

Predictions

Semis
Isner d. Tiafoe
Kyrgios d. Chung

Isner will be a heavy favorite to retain his Atlanta title after the great run at Wimbledon, while Kyrgios, Tiafoe, and Chung look to steel themselves for a good hard court summer in North America.

Final
Isner d. Kyrgios

Exclusive Interview: @KikiMladenovic Perseveres in Heat of Battle @CitiOpen; @SabineLisicki Back to Winning Ways in Washington

Posted by Admin on August 3, 2017

Posted in: Citi Open, Washington, WTA. Tagged: 2017, Citi Open, france, germany, Kiki Mladenovic, sabine lisicki, US Open Series, washington, WTA Tour. Leave a comment

Exclusive Interview: Kiki Mladenovic Perseveres in the Heat of Battle at Citi Open; Lisicki Back to Winning Ways in Washington
Steve Fogleman, Tennis Atlantic

Kiki Mladenovic was struggling throughout her match with the heat yesterday in a brutal 3-set win against Tatjana Maria at the Citi Open in Washington. In the end, she easily showed that she’s earned the title of prime contender against top seed Simona Halep, who was resting from her win more for than 24 hours after Mladenovic advanced. She made time for an exclusive interview with Tennis Atlantic after the match.

There was some talk in the media this week (and every year) about the fact that the women play in the afternoon and the men follow later during what are inevitably cooler temperatures with more fans in the stands. So what about the idea that the WTA players get the worst tee-times at Citi Open, in the high heat of the D.C.-in-August day? Would she like to play a little later in the afternoon? Mladenovic put it in perspective.

Kristina ‘Kiki’ Mladenovic, 2017 Citi Open (Photo: Teninis Atlantic)

“I would love to. I wish” she said, “but I cannot complain. The men and the women struggle the same way. They played really late last night. We were in bed watching, them, the men, last night so you get some compromises, I guess. Hopefully, it gets easier with the upcoming scheduling in the coming days.”

Exactly 10 months ago, she was #57 in the world. Today, she’s #13. Exactly what is going on here?

“My motto hasn’t changed. Lots of work, like everybody, I guess. But I believe in the process and the journey. I’m giving it all everyday. I’m trying to find all the details I can to improve and be a better player each day.”

“The biggest difference would be my physical condition. I think I’ve improved a lot in my movement and my strength.”

She noted that she’s “very happy” with the 2017 season thus far.

Mladenovic plays Canada’s Bianca Andreescu tomorrow on Grandstand 2, which hardly seems fitting for the putative #1 seed of the tournament until Simona Halep was denied a wild card to Stanford. Either way, Mladenovic is content to earn everything she achieves, here and beyond.

Sabine Lisicki, 2017 Citi Open (Photo: Tennis Atlantic)

Sabine Lisicki is indeed back to her winning ways. After an absence from the tour due to injury, Lisicki edged past plucky Valentini Grammatikopoulou 7-6, 7-6 at Citi Open in Washington today. Lisicki wasn’t thrilled with her play, but she’ll take the win and advance to the second round against Aryna Sabalenka tomorrow. “It was my first hard court match since last year. Lots of things I need to improve on,” she told Citi Open Radio immediately after the match. Lisicki was sidelined for the first half of the season with shoulder problems. No matter what her ranking, the US fans adore Lisicki and the feeling was clearly mutual today after the match.

2015 ATP Draw Challenge Week 32 (Winston-Salem)
Steen Kirby, Tennis Atlantic

The final stop on the US Open Series is Winston-Salem.

Winston-Salem

2015 Winston-Salem Open Predictions

Steen Kirby’s picks

Round 2 matches: Simon vs. Bedene, Herbert vs. Baghdatis, Sousa vs. Haas, Bolelli vs. Querrey, Tsonga vs. Young, Donaldson vs. Johnson, Paire vs. Chung, Lu vs. Garcia-Lopez, Bellucci vs. Duckworth, Klizan vs. Vesely, Gabashvili vs. Kokkinakis, Jaziri vs. Troicki, Coric vs. Giraldo, Schwartzman vs. Andujar, Janowicz vs. Rosol, Kukushkin vs. Anderson
Round 3 matches: Simon vs. Baghdatis, Sousa vs. Querrey, Tsonga vs. Johnson, Paire vs. Lu, Bellucci vs. Klizan, Kokkinakis vs. Jaziri, Coric vs. Andujar, Janowicz vs. Anderson
Quarterfinals: Baghdatis vs. Querrey, Tsonga vs. Paire, Bellucci vs. Kokkinakis, Coric vs. Anderson
Semifinals: Querrey vs. Tsonga, Kokkinakis vs. Anderson
Final: Tsonga vs. Anderson
Champion: Anderson

Chris de Waard’s picks

Round 2 matches: Simon vs. Bedene, Stakhovsky vs. Baghdatis, Sousa vs. Haas, Bolelli vs. Querrey, Tsonga vs. Young, Groth vs. Johnson, Paire vs. Chung, Lu vs. Garcia-Lopez, Bellucci vs. Duckworth, Ilhan vs. Vesely, Gabashvili vs. Kokkinakis, Jaziri vs. Troicki, Coric vs. Giraldo, Schwartzman vs. Andujar, Janowicz vs. Gulbis, Mahut vs. Anderson
Round 3 matches: Simon vs. Baghdatis, Sousa vs. Querrey, Tsonga vs. Johnson, Paire vs. Garcia-Lopez, Duckworth vs. Vesely, Kokkinakis vs. Troicki, Coric vs. Andujar, Gulbis vs. Anderson
Quarterfinals: Simon vs. Querrey, Tsonga vs. Paire, Vesely vs. Kokkinakis, Coric vs. Gulbis
Semifinals: Simon vs. Tsonga, Kokkinakis vs. Coric
Final: Tsonga vs. Coric
Champion: Tsonga

Jo-Wilfried Tsonga is a favorite this week.

Week 31 standings

Cincinnati
1: Steen (224 points) (+1000 points overall)
2: Niall (210 points) (+600 points overall)
3: Joe (176 points) (+360 points overall)
4: Chris (166 points) (+360 points overall)
5: Jeff (0 points) (+0 points overall)

Overall standings (after week 31)
1: Steen: 14,780 ranking points (+1000 points overall)
2: Niall: 13,050 points (+600 points overall)
3: Joe 12,270 points (+360 points overall)
4: Chris: 11,115 points (+360 points overall)
5: Jeff: 9,900 points (+0 points overall)

Steen adds to his lead as Niall widens the gap between the top 2 and everyone else.

ATP Draw Challenge (London Queens)

Tiafoe, Klizan lead 2015 ATP Winston-Salem Qualifying Pack
Steen Kirby, Tennis Atlantic

Embed from Getty Images

Four qualifiers joined the large Winston-Salem Open field for 2015, as they demonstrated their good form in advance of the 2015 US Open.

Two of the players set to feature at the open, Martin Klizan, and young gun American Frances Tiafoe were the stars of the qualifying draw.

Klizan, a top 40 player, was a surprise entrant in the qualifying draw, and will now look to boost is below .500 hard court record this year at the main draw level with a good run in Winston-Salem. The Slovakian beat Eric Quigley in round 1 and Deiton Baughman in round 2 before finishing his sweep of American qualifying competitors with a straight set win over in-form American Bjorn Fratangelo who found his hopes of playing in an ATP main draw for the second straight week stopped in their tracks. Klizan scored a minor upset over Dominic Thiem in Cincinnati and is likely to get through round 1 given the lower ranked and less talented Marsel Ilhan is his opponent.

Frances Tiafoe failed to win a match in his main draw opportunity in Atlanta this summer, but he’ll get another crack at his first ATP main draw win as a professional against James Duckworth in the opening round in Winston-Salem. The confident 17 year old beat Patrick Daciek. Radu Albot, and fellow American Ryan Harrison to qualifying, beating the experienced baseline grinder Harrison in three sets, as he recovered from a first set breadstick to get the win. Tiafoe has already been awarded a main draw wild card for the US Open, so he gets to bypass qualifying, and he’s he has a lot of tennis ahead as he will also be playing in the US Open Juniors as he’s still 17 and got a wild card for that tournament.

Embed from Getty Images

Joining Klizan and Tiafoe in the main draw are a pair of Europeans, Marco Cecchinato and Pierre-Hugues Herbert.

Cecchinato normally prefers clay, but he has a surprisingly positive 7-6 hard court record on the season now, after blazing through qualifying without a set dropped against Andrew Carter, Skander Mansouri and Wil Spencer. He’ll open against Aljaz Bedene in round 1, another player who prefers clay.

Embed from Getty Images

Herbert, a 24 year old Frenchman and quasi doubles specialist, continued his success at the ATP qualifying level this season and relied on his serve to get past Kimmer Coppejans, Kevin King and Sekou Bangoura without dropping a set. Herbert had one of the tougher draws to qualify, so his results have been impressive in North Carolina and he’ll have a great chance to get a win over ATP veteran Sergiy Stakhovsky in round 1.

Embed from Getty Images

Steen Kirby (Marseille)