Catching the Action at the Citi Open (photos)


Tennis balls are among the fastest moving objects in all of sports, and the racquet hand is far quicker than the eye. Fortunately we have the ability to freeze the action down to fractions of seconds. View my photographs of this past week’s Citi Open tournament from courtside by clicking on the photo icons below.

The Washington Open (also known as the Citi Open, for its chief corporate sponsor) has been the premier tennis event in the District since 1969. This year’s tournament was held from July 27 to Aug. 4, once again at the William H.G. FitzGerald Tennis Center in Rock Creek Park. Part of the ATP World Tour 500 and WTA International circuits, it attracts some of the leading tennis talent in the world. This year marked the tournament’s first under the management of local businessman Mark Ein, also the owner of the Washington Kastles of World Team Tennis.

A fan favorite, Nick Kyrgios of Australia defeated Russia’s Daniil Medvedev in straight sets on Sunday, Aug. 4, to take the men’s singles title. The most entertaining match took place the previous night, when Kyrgios defeated number-one seed Stefanos Tsitsipas of Greece in a tense, third-set tiebreaker.

On the women’s court, Jessica Pegula, daughter of Buffalo Bills and Buffalo Sabres owner Terry Pegula, defeated Camila Giorgi of Italy to win her first WTA singles title.

Fifteen-year-old Wimbledon sensation Coco Gauff teamed up with 17-year-old Caty McNally to win the women’s doubles title. The other headliner team, the brothers Andy and Jamie Murray, came up short in their men’s doubles quarterfinal against eventual champions Raven Klaasen and Michael Venus.

Unlike last year’s tournament, play was only held up briefly due to inclement weather. But there was plenty of stormy behavior on the field, with several thrown and broken racquets, along with a “shoe gate” controversy which stopped play during the men’s quarterfinals.

 

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