 |
| 2007 finalist John Isner |
From our friends at the Citi Open...
World’s Top Tennis Stars and Past Champions Dominate D.C. Tournament
The Citi Open, the nation’s capital tennis tradition, will once again host the world’s best, treating Washington-area fans with the highest level of competitive tennis.
In just one month, ATP and WTA stars will come to Washington, D.C., July 27-August 4 to compete for the championship and a combined $1.8 million in prize money. Both the men’s and women’s tournaments will be held at the William H.G. Fitzgerald Tennis Center in Rock Creek Park (16th and Kennedy Streets NW).
World No. 7 Frenchman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and No. 11 Kei Nishikori of Japan lead the strong men’s field that features an impressive 17 players in the top 50 of the Emirates ATP Rankings. Four of the tournament’s past champions will also return—defending champion Alexandr Dolgopolov (2012), Radek Štěpánek (2011), Lleyton Hewitt (2004), and James Blake (2002.) Four past finalists will also compete in this year’s tournament, including Tommy Haas (2012), Gael Monfils (2011), Marcos Baghdatis (2010), and John Isner (2007.) The men’s main draw also includes some of the sport’s rising young stars—Milos Raonic, Grigor Dimitrov, Bernard Tomic, Ryan Harrison—and returning fan favorites Mardy Fish and Sam Querrey.
The women’s field boasts 11 players in the top 50 of the WTA Rankings, including the tournament’s past two champions—world No. 16 Nadia Petrova (2011) and defending champion Magdalena Rybarikova (2012)—as well as American superstar Sloane Stephens The main draw also lists former world No. 9 Andrea Petkovic; top three Romanians Sorana Cirstea, Simona Halep and Monica Niculescu; international stars Ekaterina Makarova, Alize Cornet, Mona Barthel, Kaia Kanepi, and Yanina Wickmayer. Rising young stars Madison Keys, Heather Watson, Christina McHale, and Eugenie Bouchard—who defeated the 12th seed at Wimbledon this week to reach the third round—are also listed in the main draw. International Tennis Federation 2012 Junior World Champion Taylor Townsend will compete as a wild card entrant.
The remaining spots will be filled with the winners of the qualifying tournament on July 27-28 and wild cards. Main draw play will begin Monday, July 29. Players are subject to change due to injury or other unforeseen circumstances.
The Citi Open is one of only 11 elite ATP World Tour 500-level events worldwide and the only one held in the United States. The event is also part of the prestigious Emirates Airline US Open Series, the five-week summer tennis season that links nine North American hard-court tournaments to the final Grand Slam of the year, the US Open. In addition, the Citi Open features a WTA International Tournament which provides fans the opportunity to watch simultaneous competitions of both world-class men’s and women’s tennis throughout the nine-day event. The tournament features 48 men’s singles players and 16 doubles teams, 32 women’s singles players and 16 doubles teams.
The tournament’s owner and beneficiary, the Washington Tennis & Education Foundation (WTEF), provides underserved children in the D.C. area with a safe environment to learn critical life skills both on and off the courts through academic and athletic enrichment.
Ticket pricing and package details plus a full listing of the player fields are now available at www.citiopentennis.com, or by phone at 202-721-9500. Daily and single session tickets are available through Ticketmaster.
For more information, visit the Citi Open on the web at www.citiopentennis.com. The Citi Open is on Facebook at www.facebook.com/CitiOpen and on Twitter at @CitiOpen. To receive news and updates about the tournament, join the growing Citi Open Text Club by texting DC to 25973. The 2013 Citi Open is a Lagardère Unlimited production.
