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2021 @CitiOpen Women’s Invitational Starts Tonight

Posted by Admin on August 5, 2021

Posted in: Citi Open, Washington, WTA. Tagged: Citi Open, Coco Gauff, jessica pegula, mark ein, vika azarenka, washington, WTA Washington. Leave a comment

2021 Citi Open Women’s Invitational Starts Tonight

WASHINGTON-AUGUST 5—Starting tonight, Coco Gauff, Victoria Azarenka and Jessica Pegula will compete in the Citi Open Women’s Invitational, a special, round-robin singles event as part of Citi Open week. Pegula and Gauff were crowned singles and doubles champions, respectively, in the WTA Tour’s 2019 Citi Open.

The inaugural champion will receive $25,000 in prize money. The Women’s Sports Foundation will be the beneficiary of the tournament and will receive a $50,000 donation from the Citi Open, Citi and the Mark and Sally Ein Foundation.

Coco Gauff

WTA No. 25; 2019 Citi Open women’s doubles champion; 5 WTA titles (2 singles, 3 doubles); 2021 French Open quarterfinalist

Victoria Azarenka

Current WTA No. 15; Former World No. 1; 30 WTA titles (21 singles, 9 doubles); 2012 and 2013 Australian Open winner; 2012, 2013 and 2020 U.S. Open finalist

Jess Pegula, 2019 Citi Open (Photo: Mike Renz)

Jessica Pegula

2019 Citi Open women’s singles champion; Current WTA No. 28; 2021 Australian Open quarterfinalist

Schedule:

Thursday, August 5 (Following tonight’s. match on Stadium Court)

Coco Gauff vs. Victoria Azarenka

Friday, August 6 (Final day session match on Stadium Court)

Victoria Azarenka vs. Jessica Pegula

Saturday August 7 (Following 7 p.m. match on Stadium Court)

Coco Gauff vs. Jessica Pegula

The format is best of 3 sets, regular scoring, with a 10-point super-tiebreak to decide the third. The player with the best record will be crowned the champion. In the event of a tie, the champion will be decided by most sets, or if necessary, most games won.

Medvedev Edges Opelka in Late Night @CitiOpen Thriller

Posted by Admin on August 1, 2017

Posted in: ATP, Citi Open, Steen Kirby, Washington, WTA. Tagged: 2017 Citi Open, ATP Washington, Citi Open, Citi Open 1st round, Daniil Medvedev, Donald Young, Henri Laaksonen, Jared Donaldson, WTA Washington. Leave a comment

Medvedev Edges Opelka in Late Night Citi Open Thriller
Steen Kirby, Tennis Atlantic

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Daniil Medvedev needed two and a half hours, and the maximum three sets to defeat American Reilly Opelka, but in the end the experienced Russian took the match 6-7 6-3 7-6. Medvedev had a set point in the first set, that he didn’t take, even though he was steady on serve and saved break points in multiple games. In the second set Medvedev got a double break to force a third set. In that third set Opelka went up a break but quickly lost it, the American would have a match point in the ensuing third set tiebreak, but Medvedev saved it and took the match.

Other winners in round 1 men’s action included Lukas Lacko and Marius Copil over qualifiers Alexios Halebian and Sekou Bangoura in straight sets, Guido Pella over qualifier Ramkumar Ramanathan in straights, Yuki Bhambri via retirement against Stefan Kozlov, and Nicolas Mahut over Thomas Fabbiano in straight sets. Tommy Paul also outlasted young gun Casper Ruud, winning via retirement as Ruud wilted in the heat.

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Henri Laaksonen pulled the upset against Vasek Pospisil 6-7 6-4 6-3, Laaksonen broke at the end of set 2, and then recovered from a break down in the third set to take the match, as Pospisil collapsed from 3-3 in the third. Donald Young defeated Tim Smyczek for the second time in as many weeks 4-6 6-3 6-4. Young got off to a slow start and was broken twice in the first set, but he broke in set 2, and then in a topsy turvy third set he got the final break of the match, saved two break points on his serve, and held his next service game to prevail.

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Jared Donaldson also scored a comeback win, the American beat tour veteran Dudi Sela 6-7 6-4 6-3. He dropped the first set but was in control most of the match, he finally learned how to take advantage of Sela’s weak serve and score the win.

In WTA action Arnya Sabalenka upset Lauren Davis in straights, Julia Goerges beat Francoise Abanda in straights, Andrea Petkovic danced her way to a win against Kurumi Nara, Oceane Dodin upset Jelena Jankovic via retirement, Sara Errani beat Risa Ozaki in straights, Alison Van Uytvanck beat Jana Cepelova, Bianca Andreescu upset Camila Giorgi in three sets, and Mariana Duque-Marino beat Shelby Rogers in straights.

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Washington’s @CitiOpen Offers Strong Field With Zverev, Bouchard, Thiem, Monfils, Del Potro

Posted by Admin on June 13, 2017

Posted in: ATP, Washington, WTA. Tagged: 2017, Alexander Zverev, ATP Washington, Citi Open, Dominic Thiem, Gaels Monfils, Genie Bouchard, juan martin del potro, player field, WTA Washington. Leave a comment

CITI OPEN^® TENNIS TOURNAMENT COMPETITION HEATS UP WITH WORLD NO. 10 ALEXANDER ZVEREV & CANADIAN STAR GENIE BOUCHARD

Zverev vs. Jaziri 2016 Citi Open

American fan favorite Steve Johnson also committed to play; Joins dynamic field including Monfils, del Potro, Isner, Puig, and the Bryan Brothers

WASHINGTON (June 13, 2017) — D.C.’s summer just got hotter as 20-year-old phenom Alexander Zverev and Canadian starlet Eugenie Bouchard join this year’s Citi Open^® Tennis Tournament player field.

Genie Bouchard (Photo: S. Fogleman)

In addition, American fan favorite Steve Johnson has also committed to compete in the 49^th edition of the Washington tournament.

Bouchard, Zverev, and Johnson join previously announced players, including defending Citi Open champion Gael Monfils, three-time Citi Open champ Juan Martin del Potro, World No. 8 Dominic Thiem, 2015 finalist John Isner, and Olympic gold medalist Monica Puig. The Citi Open^®also welcomes back the world’s winningest doubles team, Bob and Mike Bryan.. The tournament will be held July 29 – August 6 at the Rock Creek Park Tennis Center and benefits underserved and low-income kids in the D.C. community through the Washington Tennis & Education Foundation.

So far this year, the last few months have been a highlight of Zverev, Bouchard, and Johnson’s seasons. Zverev became the youngest ATP Masters 1000 champion since 19-year-old Novak Djokovic in 2007, when he captured the title in Rome. In the meantime, Bouchard defeated former World No. 1 Maria Sharapova in the second round of the Madrid Open — a three-set thriller that has already been touted as one of the best matches of the year. Johnson, a two-time Citi Open semifinalist, captured the second title of his career in Houston.

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“Zverev is one of those players that you watch and quickly find yourself cheering him on to take out one of the giants. He is an unbelievable player and has such a bright future ahead of him,” said Tournament Director Keely O’Brien. “As for Bouchard, you always want the ‘it’ girl at your event and she certainly is that. Genie has been playing with a little extra motivation this season, so I hope she goes the distance here in DC. And Stevie, a Citi Open fan favorite, is playing 100% with his heart and that can make him unstoppable.”

Single session tickets, weeklong packages and other ticket plans are on sale now at www.citiopentennis.com or by calling the hotline 202.721.9500.

Each ticket provides fans access to the action on all six courts, with both men’s and women’s matches, for as many as 24 matches per session. Tickets to gain admission to the tournament’s signature events will be announced soon.

The Citi Open Tennis Tournament is one of only 13 elite ATP World Tour 500-level events worldwide and the only one held in the United States. The tournament represents a WTA International event and having both ATP and WTA players provides fans the opportunity to watch simultaneous competitions of both world-class men’s and women’s tennis throughout the nine-day event. It is one of only five U.S. tournaments that include both men’s and women’s fields. Main draw matches of the tournament will be broadcast starting Monday, July 31, on Tennis Channel.

–S. Pegarido, Citi Open

Favorites Advance at Citi Open on Wednesday
Steen Kirby, Tennis Atlantic

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A full day of play on Wednesday at the 2016 Citi Open saw most of the favorites advance into the next round. On the women’s side, Yanina Wickmayer beat Shuai Zhang 6-3 7-5, Lauren Davis won an All-American battle with Shelby Rogers 5-7 7-5 6-3, Kristina Mladenovic got past Samantha Crawford 6-2 2-6 6-3, and Yulia Putintseva defeated local favorite Usue Arconada 6-4 4-6 6-4 in a nearly two and a half hour battle. The oft injured Jessica Pegula upset Christina McHale 7-5 6-2. and top seed Sam Stosur advanced 5-7 4-3 (ret.) against fan favorite Caroline Wozniacki. Wozniacki hurt her arm late in the first set, and although she won that set, she was eventually in too much pain to carry on.

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In ATP second round action, four American men advanced to the round of 16, led by top seed John Isner, who dominated proceedings against overmatched Australian James Duckworth 6-3 6-4. Jack Sock beat Lukas Lacko 7-6 6-4 in a nip and tuck battle, Steve Johnson had more depth and power on his shots compared to Adrian Mannarino and won 6-3 6-4, and Ryan Harrison upset Viktor Troicki with solid defensive minded tennis 7-6 6-4. Troicki had his chances in the match, but was left frustrated by Harrison’s ability to chase down shots from the baseline and counter Troicki’s more powerful tennis. Johnson has won 12 of his last 15 matches and is in great form himself.

Ryan Harrison 2016 Citi Open

Young gun American Taylor Fritz wasn’t as lucky, he fell 6-4 6-2 to Alexander Zverev. The first set was a long one, as Zverev had to save five break points serving up a break 2-1. Fritz didn’t get another shot to break in the set, and Zverev took it. After facing four break points on his own serve in the opening game of set 2, Fritz was broken serving 1-1, and at that point you saw the will to fight leave him like a deflated balloon. Fritz is talented, but Zverev won most baseline rallies, was much stronger on serve, and showed why he’s ranked 30 spots higher in the ATP rankings.

Fritz vs Zverev 2016 Citi Open

Big servers Gilles Muller, and Ivo Karlovic advanced, Muller was too imposing for the undersized Yoshihito Nishioka and won 6-4 6-1. Karlovic edged past Brian Baker 6-3 7-6, as Baker was too shaky on his own serve against a player as strong as Karlovic. Kevin Anderson continued his woeful season and was upset however. Malek Jaziri won his second third set tiebreak in as many days 5-7 6-4 7-6. Jaziri was steely in his own right, while Anderson faltered when it mattered.

Gilles Muller 2016 Citi Open

Gael Monfils and Borna Coric will meet in the round of 16. Monfils showed off his movement and shotmaking against Rendy Lu. Lu didn’t have an answer as he lost 6-3 6-2. Monfils was in good mood, and won 100% of his first serve points in the first set. Coric advanced with ease 6-4 6-4 over Yuichi Sugita, as he faced practically no pressure on his own serve, but pressured Sugita in multiple return games.

Monfils vs Lu 2016 Citi Open

In late action, Bernard Tomic defeated Donald Young 7-6 6-3, and Marcos Baghdatis dominated John Millman 6-2 6-4.

In men’s doubles, Mergea/Tecau defeated Kudla/Tiafoe, Marach/Martin beat Stepanek/Zimonjic, Kontinen/Peers defeated Huey/Mirnyi, Guccione/Querrey beat Butorac/Lipsky, Nestor/Roger-Vasselin beat Fritz/Opelka, Lindstedt/Troicki beat Cabal/Farah, and Johnson/Sock beat Melo/Soares is an upset.

In women’s doubles, Aoyama/Ozaki, Dabrowski/Yang, Melichar/Xu, and Aoyama/Ozaki are all marching on.

Dimitrov and Bouchard Fall on Tuesday at Citi Open
Steen Kirby, Tennis Atlantic

Evans vs Dimitrov 2016 Citi Open

Fan favorites Grigor Dimitrov and Eugenie Bouchard crashed out of the Citi Open on Tuesday at the hands of Dan Evans and Camila Giorgi respectively. Dimitrov played with malaise in the afternoon heat, creating an opportunity for Evans that he seized upon. The Brit dictated with his one handed backhand and came away with a 6-4 6-4 victory in less than an hour and a half of play. Dimitrov was broken in the opening game of the match, then broken once more after breaking back. He had a chance at the end of the first set to get the match to 5-5, but failed to do so.

In the second set, it was more of the same, with Evans steady on his serve, snuffing out chances for Dimitrov. Evans attacked Dimitrov’s serve and ended up 5-2 up, and serving for the match. He had three match points serving 5-2, but Dimitrov clawed back, and made a late rally, holding at love to force Evans to serve for the match once again at 5-4. Despite the final game going to deuce, a fifth match point was finally the clincher for Evans, as Dimitrov’s baseline game simply broke down when it mattered. A woeful season continues for Dimitrov, while Evans is perhaps making his move into a regular ATP tour quality player.

Evans vs. Dimitrov Citi Open 2016 (2)

Bouchard, another would be star who has had woeful results this season, fell to Giorgi 7-5 6-4. She was behind the entire first set, at one point 4-1 down, only to break back, before eventually being broken on her own serve when serving to force a first set tiebreak. In the second set, the story repeated itself, with Giorgi going 4-2 up, Bouchard breaking back, but losing her own serve at 4-5 with the match on the line. Giorgi only had one match point, but it’s all she needed to score a big win.

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In other WTA results, Naomi Broady defeated Irina Falconi 6-3 6-4, Sabine Lisicki was all smiles against Kristina Kucova 6-3 7-5, Christina McHale got past the unorthodox Monica Niculescu 6-3 6-4, Tamira Paszek defeated qualifier Lauren Albanese 6-3 6-4, Monica Puig won the lone battle on the day against Oceane Dodin 6-2 4-6 6-3 in two hours, and Risa Ozaki stunned Sloane Stephens 6-2 6-1 in less than an hour. Stephens played one of her worst matches of the season, while Puig looked dominant until she didn’t against Dodin, and had to fight her way back.

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In the lone ATP doubles match on the day, Lukasz Kubot and Alexander Peya won a tight battle against Brian Baker and Austin Krajicek 4-6 6-2 10-8.

As for ATP singles, there were a lot of close tiebreak matches on the day. Brian Baker needed two tiebreaks to defeat the big serving Sam Groth. Groth was poor on return, as is usual, but just a few points difference separated the two men, as a frustrated Groth easily could have been the winner instead. Fellow American Ryan Harrison didn’t play incredibly great, but he still defeated a likely jet-lagged Stephane Robert 7-6 6-3. Ivan Dodig retired down 6-2 4-2 against Yoshihito Nishioka, as he was also feeling the effects of fatigue.

Austin Krajicek lost twice on the day, as he also fell in singles at the hands of Rendy Lu, 6-1 7-6. Donald Young found himself in a tight contest with lower ranked qualifier Ernesto Escobedo, he eventually prevailed 6-4 3-6 6-3, as Escobedo had few chances in the third set to get back into the match. Tall American Reilly Opelka battled hard for what would have been a big win against Malek Jaziri, but Jaziri was steady on his own serve, despite his struggles against the American’s height. The match finished 6-7 7-6 7-6, as late in the third set, Opelka was experiencing shoulder pain and had to call the trainer. With as well as he played against an ATP tour regular, Opelka showed more than a glimpse of his potential.

Reilly Opelka 2016 Citi Open

Another young gun, Denis Shapovalov, put up quite the contest against an ATP regular. Lukas Lacko needed three sets against the young Canadian, winning 7-6 4-6 6-4. The first set of the match featured four breaks of serve, while the second had just one, which went against Lacko. Shapovalov tightened up his game as the match went on, while Lacko forced him to hit a lot of his one handed backhands, a lethal, but at times erratic shot for him. In the third, Shapovalov was serving to make it 5-5, but found himself broken on match point, sending Lacko into the next round by the skin of his teeth. Despite the loss, it’s clear Shapovalov has the game to compete well on the ATP tour as a young gun.

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Alexandr Dolgopolov found himself in a two hour war against Jordan Thompson. Dolgo was cruising up 6-4 in the first set, and connecting on his blistering shots from both wings. He played a miserable second set however, losing it 6-1, and in the third set, he was a comfortable 5-2 up, before getting broken and eventually forced into a third set tiebreak, a tiebreak that he got ahead in, and didn’t look back, taking the match 6-4 1-6 7-6. Though he surely wished the match had been easier, Dolgopolov packed the stands with his exciting play.

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In late action, Benoit Paire dominated Jared Donaldson 6-0 7-5, and Sam Querrey came back from a shock first set dropped against Bjorn Fratangelo to win 6-7 6-4 6-4. Querrey wasn’t broken in the match until late in the third set, and at that point he was still 5-3 up, and served the match out in his next service game to earn an important victory. Thunderstorms moved in late on Tuesday, interrupting Steve Johnson vs. Adrian Mannarino (4-2 for Johnson), Kristina Mladenovic vs. Samantha Crawford (6-2 1-3), and Lauren Davis vs. Shelby Rogers (4-4). Those matches will be completed today.

The tournament marches on today with big matches on both the ATP and WTA side as the top seeds take to the court.

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

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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.

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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.

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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

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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

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 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!