Citi Open Tennis Action (photos)

A memorable Citi Open concluded Sunday, July 24, with a full slate of championship matches. This year’s event, which began a few weeks earlier than the normal to accommodate the Olympic schedule, was punctuated by extreme heat, making it rough on participants and attendees alike. At the semifinals on Saturday, temperatures on the court were said to top an unbelievable 140 degrees Fahrenheit.

This years 48th edition of the Citi Open Tennis Tournament was notable for exciting matches and personal milestones. Gael Monfils (France) withstood the big serves of 6-foot-11-inch Ivo Karlovic (Croatia) to mount a dramatic comeback victory to take the men’s singles championship in three sets. Karlovic, who was on an eight-match winning streak, was serving for victory in the second set, and had previously won all 53 service games in the hard court tournament until he was broken at the crucial moment. The 29-year-old Monfils earned $348,200 in prize money for his sixth title on the ATP World Tour and his first since February 2014. The 37-year-old Karlovic, who won on grass last week at Newport, was trying to become the oldest back-to-back winner in 43 years.

In men’s doubles, Canada’s Daniel Nestor and France’s Édouard Roger-Vasselin defeated Poland’s Lukasz Kubot and Austria’s Alexander Peya in two tie-breaking sets. It was the 90th doubles title for the 43-year-old Nestor, who is third on the all-time list.

In one of the notable earlier matches, 19-year-old Alexander Zverev (Germany) defeated 18-year-old Taylor Fritz (USA) in the second round of play in an interesting matchup of professional tennis’ next-generation stars. Zverev would eventually reach the semifinals, losing to Monfils on Saturday night.

In one of the most dramatic matches in this tournament’s history, Steve Johnson (USA) defeated top-seed John Isner in a two-hour match that was won in a 17-15 tie-breaker. Isner, whose serves measured as high as 146 miles per hour during the match, had five set points in the first set and seven in the second set but failed to convert.

On the woman’s side, Yanina Wickmayer (Belgium) took the singles title from Lauren Davis (USA). It is extremely rare for a qualifier (Davis) to rise to a championship match. Wickmayer also shared the woman’s doubles title in a display of stamina in the extreme heat.

View our photos of all the action at the Citi Open from courtside by clicking on the photo icons below. (All photos by Jeff Malet.)