Citi DC Open Day 1: Men's singles predictions ft. Reilly Opelka vs Murphy Cassone

Day 1 of the 2025 Citi DC Open will feature eleven first-round matches in the men's singles competition. There will be no seeds in action, as all 16 seeds have received byes and have automatically advanced to the next round.

Of all the notable players in action, home favorite Reilly Opelka will be in action on the Stadium Court against Murphy Cassone. There will be two other All-American clashes in the first round—Mackenzie McDonald against Colton Smith and Learner Tien taking on Emilio Nava. Former Top 10 player Cameron Norrie will also begin his campaign against Billy Harris.

Let's take a look at some of the matches scheduled for Day 1 at the 2025 Citi DC Open.

#1 Reilly Opelka vs Murphy Cassone

One of the All-American clashes in the first round of the 2025 Citi DC Open will see Reilly Opelka take on compatriot Murphy Cassone. Including Challenger tennis, Opelka has a 23-18 win/loss record in 2025, with a runner-up finish in Brisbane being his best result. His last event was Wimbledon, where he lost against Brandon Nakashima in the second round.

Cassone has mostly been active on the Challenger Tour this year, winning 28 of the 46 matches he has played this year. His last event before the Citi DC Open was the Los Cabos Open, where he failed to qualify, losing against Nicolas Mejia in the qualifiers. At the Citi DC Open, he won 6-2, 6-4 against Thai Kwiatkowski and got a win via retirement against Rinki Hijikata to get in the main draw.

This will be the first meeting between the two players, but Opelka, being a higher-ranked player, is the favorite to win.

Predicted winner- Reilly Opelka

#2 Cameron Norrie vs Billy Harris

Former Top-10 player Cameron Norrie will face compatriot Billy Harris in the first round of the 2025 Citi DC Open. Norrie has won 25 of the 44 matches he has played in 2025, with a semifinal finish at the Geneva Open being his best outing. He was last in action at Wimbledon, where he reached the quarterfinals, losing against Carlos Alcaraz in straight sets.

Playing Challenger tennis mostly, Harris has a 26-29 win/loss record in 2025. His best result was reaching the final of the New Delhi Challenger, where he fell short against Kyrian Jacquet. At the Citi DC Open, he won 6-1, 7-5 against Marek Gengel and 6-4, 7-6 (6) against Moerani Bouzige in the qualifying rounds to get in the main draw.

The head-to-head is 1-0 in favor of Harris, as he won 6-4, 6-4 against Norrie at Eastbourne this year. However, considering the current form, Norrie is the favorite to win the upcoming match.

Predicted winner- Cameron Norrie

#3 Matteo Arnaldi vs Daniel Altmaier

One of the first-round matches at the 2025 Citi DC Open will feature Italy's Matteo Arnaldi taking on Daniel Altmaier of Germany. Arnaldi has an even 15-15 win/loss record this year, with his best result coming at the Delray Beach Open, where he reached the semifinal. His last event was Wimbledon, where he lost against Botic Van de Zandschulp in the first round.

Altmaier has won 25 of the 49 matches he has played this year, including Challenger and Qualifier tennis. His best results include a semifinal at the Turin Challenger and quarterfinal finishes at Rotterdam and Marseille. His last event was the Los Cabos Open, where he lost 3-6, 4-6 against Tristan Schoolkate in the second round.

This will be the first meeting between the two players, but Arnaldi is the favorite to win, as he is the higher-ranked player.

Predicted winner- Matteo Arnaldi

#4 Ethan Quinn vs Christopher O'Connell

Home favorite Ethan Quinn will face Australia's Christopher O' Connell in the first round of the 2025 Citi DC Open. Quinn has a 34-18 win /loss record this year, including Challenger tennis.

His best result was reaching the final of the Canberra Challenger, where he lost against Joao Fonseca. His last event was Wimbledon, where he lost against Kamil Majchrzak in the second round.

O'Connell has won 14 of the 34 matches he has played this year, with a quarterfinal finish at Bucharest being his best result. His last event was Wimbledon, where he lost against Adrian Mannarino in straight sets in the first round.

These two players have not played each other previously, but being the home player, Quinn is the favorite to win the match.

Predicted winner- Ethan Quinn

About the author

Sagnik, a Mass Communication and Journalism graduate, is a tennis journalist at Sportskeeda. Before finding his spot in the tennis writing team, he worked as a junior content specialist for academic content writing firms for a couple of years.

Before putting out any information in the public domain, Sagnik makes sure that every element of his content is well-researched and backed with credible data so that there is no misinterpretation of facts or quotes and ethical standards are maintained. To do so, Sagnik follows reputed websites like the Tennis Channel and Tennis TV, and renowned journalists on social media.

He is a fan of former player Roger Federer, and just like his favorite player, Sagnik likes to bring perfection to his write-ups by providing concise and on-point content. Speaking of the ‘GOAT’ debate, Sagnik believes that it is a bit unfair to compare the legends of the game from different eras who have played on different terms. But if he were to pick one, he’d go for Novak Djokovic based on his tally of 24 Grand Slam titles.

When not writing about tennis and technically analyzing the sport, which he believes are his 'forte', Sagnik indulges in reading books.

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Edited by Tushhita Barua