The 2017 edition of the Citi Open comes at a time when the ATP Tour is in a state of flux. Novak Djokovic has shut down his season. Andy Murray is clearly not fully fit. Those players were not going to play Washington, but the point is that there is ample opportunity for players to move up in the rankings. Who will take advantage here?
Lots of players will quickly transition from the short grass season to hardcourts. Washington is a fresh start for a lot of players on tour.
The competition in the 48-player main draw begins on Monday, July 31.
Event Details
Event: Citi Open
Category: ATP World Tour – 500 Series
Date: July 31 – August 6, 2017
Location: William H.G FitzGerald Tennis Center – Washington, D.C.
With a prize money allotment of roughly $1,750,000, the 500-point tournament doesn’t offer as much of a purse as the Dubai ATP 500 event, but it’s still fairly substantial for any of the players who participate in the event. It is also a prize-money increase of $120,000 from last year ($1,629,000).
Before the Masters 1000 events in Canada and Cincinnati, this is a chance for players to pick up a significant amount of points, affecting their ability in some cases to qualify for the Masters; avoid qualifying in the Masters and proceed directly to the main draw; or get a seed in a Masters tournament and thereby earn a first-round bye.
Points
Champion – 500
Runner-up – 300
Semifinal – 180
Quarterfinal – 90
Round of 16 – 45
Former Champions and Results (5 Years)
Year Champion Runner-up Score
2016 – Gael Monfils def. Ivo Karlovic – 5-7, 7-6, 6-4
2015 – Kei Nishikori def. John Isner – 4-6, 6-4, 6-4
2014 – Milos Raonic def. Vasek Pospisil – 6-1, 6-4
2013 – Juan Martin del Potro def. John Isner – 3-6, 6-1, 6-2
2012 – Alexandr Dolgopolov def. Tommy Haas – 6-7, 6-4, 6-1
Player Info:
Grass is not Dominic Thiem’s favorite surface, and it was evident after his stunning straight set loss to unheralded Ramkumar Ramanathan in Antalya. To the surprise of many, Thiem still made the second week of Wimbledon, but he went down to Tomas Berdych in a two-hour, 52-minute five-setter.
Last year, Thiem played exceedingly well until this point of the year but struggled in the U.S. Open series and the Asian hardcourt swing. Even this season, Thiem has played a lot of matches– the same mistake which led to exhaustion. The Austrian has one title to his name and a 38-16 win-loss record this year, but he must guard against running out of gas by the time U.S. Open commences. The Citi Open field this year is unusually deep, so it’s going to be intriguing to see who lifts the trophy.
Milos Raonic won the Citi Open men’s title in 2014 and will make his third appearance in Washington. In the recently concluded Wimbledon Championships, the Canadian lost to Roger Federer in the quarterfinals. Raonic has always had the game but lacks the mental edge. Even against Federer, he was mentally absent in the first two sets and paid a heavy price for it. Raonic has won this tournament before and is one of the top contenders for the title. However, with three more top-10 players present in the draw, it’s hard to predict the winner.
John Isner triumphed for the third time in Newport by beating Australian qualifier Matthew Ebden in straight sets. Isner also became only the second man to win an ATP title without facing a break point. The only other man to accomplish such an extraordinary feat was Tommy Haas, who did so in Memphis in 2007. By winning his first title in two years, Isner improved to 20-14 in 2017 before his move to Atlanta, where he is still in the tournament.
Delpo, as Juan Martin del Potro is fondly known in tennis circles, suffered a shocking Wimbledon second round defeat to Ernests Gulbis, who was ranked 589 at the time, in straight sets.
Del Potro for some reason isn’t just able to elevate his game for prolonged periods. He seems to have reached a stage of stagnation. The tall Argentine is ranked No. 30 in the world. Unless he finds ways to notch some titles, he isn’t going to make a big climb. With no big four opponents in the draw, he should believe he is the best player in the tournament. Del Potro is still not belting his backhand with conviction but still remains a threat on the ATP Tour.
William H.G. FitzGerald Tennis Center
The William H.G. FitzGerald Tennis Center is a public tennis facility in Washington, D.C. It has a stadium court with 7,500 seats. There are 15 hard courts which facilitate the staging of this event, which requires a large first and second round.
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