They're dropping like flies... the top men's seeds at the
Citi Open, that is. Last night, it was
Richard Gasquet,
Grigor Dimitrov and
Feliciano López's turn (the 4th, 6th and 7th seeds respectively) to taste defeat. This, on the heels of #1
Andy Murray's early exit (as well as #5
Kevin Anderson) on Wednesday. That's an awful lot of firepower to replace; but one man's loss is another man's gain... and suddenly the path to a championship appears a lot clearer for
Kei Nishikori,
Marin Čilić and
John Isner. All three remaining top seeds were victorious yesterday (technically this morning, after another rain delay last night.)
World #5 Nishikori was the first to win, topping
Leonardo Mayer 6-4, 6-4 on Stadium Court.
Čilić was next, besting American
Sam Querrey 7-6 (2), 7-6 (3) to advance to today's quarterfinals (vs.
Alexander Zverev, a three-set winner over
Alexandr Dolgopolov.) Later on (
much later) Isner, fresh off a third straight
BB&T Atlanta Open title, slipped by #12 seed
Vasek Pospisil in straight sets 6-4, 7-6 (6.)
Although
Čilić looks in top form, he still has to get by a possible semifinal encounter with the higher ranked Nishikori; so I'm picking Isner to stay hot, and win his first Citi Open title (after finishing second in 2007 and 2013.) Although at
this rate, it might make more sense to go with a relative unknown... such as fellow American
Jack Sock, who rallied to defeat Gasquet, currently ranked #13 in the world. Sock used his big serve to win a second-set tiebreaker (6) and force a third set, which he won 6-4.
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| Richard Gasquet |
There were only three women's singles matches on yesterday's card (
Sloane Stephens had a walkover.) #1 seed
Ekaterina Makarova advanced in straight sets over England's
Naomi Broady 6-4, 7-6 (2.) Unfortunately, #3
Belinda Bencic wasn't as fortunate, losing 6-2, 6-4 to Russian
Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova. Bencic remains in the tournament however, advancing to the Women's Doubles semifinals with partner
Kristina Mladenović. They defeated Americans
Sanaz Marand and
Taylor Townsend 6-2, 6-2 on Grandstand 2 in
under an hour.
Makarova and #2
Samantha Stosur are still on course to square off in the finals, but #6 seed
Irina-Camelia Begu and Stephens might have something to say about that. Makarova and Begu face off tonight on Grandstand 1. Stosur battles Romania's
Monica Niculescu at 1 PM.
Tickets remain on sale for today's session.
Click here to purchase tickets online; or visit the Citi Open Box Office outside the main entrance.
Click here for yesterday's results.
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| Kristina Mladenović |
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| Sanaz Marand |
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| Taylor Townsend |
