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The Citi Open gets underway in Washington DC on 3rd August and will see the participation of some of the best players on the ATP tour. It is the first of the three big tournaments ahead of the fourth Grand Slam of the year, the US Open.Citi Open is one of 13 ATP 500 tournaments on the tour and provides an ideal preparation prior to the two Masters events in Toronto/Montreal and Cincinnati.Let us look at players who could go all the way at Washington.
#5 Kevin Anderson
Seeded fifth in the tournament, Kevin Anderson is playing his first tournament after a remarkable fourth round match against Novak Djokovic at Wimbledon.
The South African had a good grass season after reaching the finals of Queen’s club before heading to SW19. He can pose a trouble to most players on the tour thanks to his serve, which he uses to good effect.
Anderson has a bye in the first round and takes on the winner of the match between Yoshihito Nishioka and Alexander Zverev in the second round. 2014 US Open runner-up Kei Nishikori could be his semifinal opponent.
He achieved his career best ranking of 14 earlier this year.
#4 John Isner
The highest ranked American on the tour, John Isner is coming to Washington after winning in Atlanta.
Isner is always a threat on the hard courts with his reliable serve, which has bailed him out on numerous occasions. He had a good run in Wimbledon before losing to Marin Cilic 12-10 in the fifth.
Isner got a bye in the opening round before facing either Victor Estrella Burgos or wildcard Nicolas Jarry in the second round. A potential quarterfinal against top seed Andy Murray is on the cards for the American.
Isner has been a runner-up at the Citi Open in 2007 (lost to Andy Roddick) and 2013 (lost to Juan Martin del Potro).
#3 Kei Nishikori
World No. 5 Kei Nishikori will look to get back to winning ways on the hard courts in North America. The Japanese had to withdraw from Wimbledon due to his calf injury.
Nishikori had an impressive run at the US Open last year where he finished as the runner-up in his first Grand Slam final. He is seeded No. 2 at the Citi Open and will look for a positive start to his US Open campaign in Washington.
After a bye in the first round, Nishikori will take on the winner of the match between James Duckworth and Ryan Harrison in the second round. He could face Feliciano Lopez in the last eight.
#2 Marin Cilic
It would be interesting to see how Marin Cilic fares in the hard court season. The No. 3 seed clinched his first Grand Slam at Flushing Meadows less than 12 months ago and is looking to get his hard court season going with a fine showing in Washington.
The Croat is playing his first hard court after skipping the Atlanta Open last week. He will take on either Dudi Sela or Hyeon Chung in the second round after getting a bye in the first round. A possible quarterfinal clash against Kevin Anderson awaits, which should be really exciting.
Citi Open will give us a preview of what to expect from Cilic come the US Open.
#1 Andy Murray
Top seed Andy Murray is having a nice time in Washington which included a visit to the White House. The Scot has reached semifinals or better at each of the three Majors this year and is eager to start his US Open campaign with a win in Washington.
Murray is also playing doubles at the Citi Open partnering Daniel Nestor. The duo will take on India’s Rohan Bopanna and Romania’s Florin Mergea in the first round on Monday. In the singles, he will face either Teymuraz Gabashvili or Benjamin Becker in the second round. He won his first Grand Slam in Flushing Meadows in 2013 and has added more aggression in his game thanks to inputs from Amelie Mauresmo and Jonas Bjorkman.
