After sellout crowds flocked to Rock Creek Park for the weekend’s qualifying sessions, the Mubadala Citi DC Open kicks off in earnest Monday with a star-studded lineup on the first day of main draw play.
From Grand Slam champions Emma Raducanu and Sloane Stephens to DC’s own Robin Montgomery, to fan favorites Ons Jabeur, Reilly Opelka and Ben Shelton, fans will be treated to plenty of headliners on the first full day of competition.
Monday’s primetime slate on Stadium Court kicks off with four-time Grand Slam doubles champion and eighth-seeded Elise Mertens taking on Raducanu (not before 6 p.m.).
Raducanu returns to DC after missing last year’s tournament due to injury. The 2021 US Open champion is one of several players in this year’s field who opted out of the Olympics with an eye on DC and the US hardcourt season.
“I think coming here was 100% the right option,” Raducanu said over the weekend. “I love this tournament. Had it been a tournament maybe somewhere else that wasn't as appealing to me, I probably could have reconsidered. But I love DC. Coming here was very enticing.”
The nightcap on Stadium Court will see Reilly Opelka continue his inspiring comeback as the American takes on Aussie James Duckworth. Opelka missed nearly two years with hip and wrist injuries, before returning two weeks ago in Newport and reaching the semifinals. The former World No.17 is a four-time ATP titlist and others on Tour are impressed by his return.
“It's pretty special to see him back,” said Sebastian Korda. “He was gone for two years. I remember here two years ago, we were talking in the locker room how his hip was bothering him, then all the struggles he went through. Pretty special to see him back here and doing so well.”
The day session on Stadium Court begins at 11 a.m. with No.7 Anastasia Pavlychenkova taking on American Ashlyn Krueger. Also on Monday afternoon on Stadium, Canadian wild card Denis Shapovalov faces former World No.9 Roberto Bautista Agut in a marquee first-round match in the men’s draw. While Bautista Agut, 36, will make his Washington debut, Shapovalov is making his fourth appearance in DC, including his ATP debut in 2016.
AMERICAN FLAVOR ON JOHN HARRIS COURT:
American wild card J.J. Wolf – a two-time quarterfinalist in DC – meets Argentine Federico Coria at 11 a.m. in the first match of the day on John Harris Court.
John Harris Court will also feature DC’s Robin Montgomery as she takes on WTA veteran Shelby Rogers. Fresh off her maiden Grand Slam match win at Wimbledon, Montgomery is set to make her first career main draw appearance at her hometown tournament.
“I’m just excited to play in front of my family again and play here [in the main draw] for the first time,” Montgomery said. “I used to come here when I was 9 and very young, so it’s kind of surreal now to be here competing in the main event.”
The winner of the Montgomery-Rogers match will face Jabeur in a potential second-round blockbuster. Montgomery fell to Jabeur in the second round at Wimbledon earlier this month.
“She has the game to become a Top-10 player,” Jabeur said of Montgomery Saturday. “She has the personality on the court, as well, which sometimes that's what you need. Sometimes when you're playing, you can play unbelievable, but in certain moments you need that character on the court. I feel like she has it. I truly feel like she can be one of the greatest players.”
READ MORE ABOUT ROBIN MONTGOMERY AND HER RETURN TO HER HOMETOWN TOURNEY
The nightcap on John Harris Court will feature 2015 DC champion Sloane Stephens against American qualifier and 2019 French Open finalist Amanda Anisimova. Stephens is making her record 12th career appearance in Washington.
DOUBLES ON THE GRANDSTAND:
The Grandstand emerged as a doubles hub last year and Monday’s schedule suggests it could be more of the same in 2024.
The first WTA doubles match this week will see headliners Paula Badosa and Ons Jabeur open against the Japanese pairing of Eri Hozumi and Makoto Ninomiya. Badosa and Jabeur reached the quarterfinals together in April in Stuttgart.
The Grandstand will also host men’s doubles on Monday as Wimbledon champions Harri Heliovaara and Henry Patten face Ivan Dodig and Ben Shelton. Dodig is a seven-time Grand Slam doubles champion and two-time DC finalist. Shelton reached the doubles final a year ago in Rock Creek Park while teaming with Mackenzie McDonald.
DC’S BAPTISTE QUALIFIES; SETS UP FIRST-ROUND DATE WITH AZARENKA
For the second time in as many years, Hailey Baptiste earned her way into the main draw of the Mubadala Citi DC Open by sweeping through the qualifying bracket.
Baptiste held off Aussie Arina Rodionova 7-6(4), 7-5 in just under two hours Sunday before another supportive crowd on Stadium Court. The DC native fired 10 aces and won 79% of her first-serve points to set up a first-round date with former World No.1 and two-time Grand Slam champion Victoria Azarenka.
Monday marks the five-year anniversary of Baptiste’s WTA debut when she stunned Madison Keys in Rock Creek Park for her first career match win.
“I’ll never forget that match,” Baptiste recalled this weekend. “It was so special to me. I was [recently] asked what match was a turning point for me where I believed that belonged and that I could play on the professional tour and I said it was that match. It instilled a lot of confidence and belief in me. I have definitely carried that with me to today.”
Baptiste entered the weekend ranked a career-high World No.92 and recently began working with coach Alex Bogomolov. The two have worked extensively on the track with an eye towards the typically hot and humid US hardcourt season.
“I’m not a big fan of the track at all,” she conceded. “But I’m trying to change my relationship with the track. I’ve been pushing myself physically off the court, focusing on my fitness and making sure that I can last in the heat. I’ll be confident knowing that I’ll be fine whether I’m playing for one hour or 3 ½ hours.”
Amanda Anisimova also reached the main draw with a 6-4, 6-4 triumph over Renata Zarazua, while Kamilla Rakhimova and McCartney Kessler also qualified for the field-of-32.
BELLUCCI CONTINUES UNLIKELY RUN INTO MAIN DRAW:
On the men’s side, Italy’s Mattia Bellucci beat the odds and some serious sleep deprivation as he punched his ticket into the main draw of an ATP-500 event for the first time.
Bellucci played late Friday night in the quarterfinals in Atlanta, his match not ending until 1:00 a.m. He didn't sleep and got on a flight to Washington five hours later and was on court Saturday afternoon just past 4:00 p.m.
Bellucci won his first qualifying match over rising American Tristan Boyer Saturday and then rallied to beat Leandro Riedi 6-7(4), 6-3, 7-6(4) in a 2 hour 46 minute marathon Sunday. Bellucci received a loud ovation from the overflow crowd on Court 4 before posing for several pictures as he made his way back to the players’ lounge.
Another quick turnaround now awaits Bellucci as he’ll face 2021 DC finalist Mackenzie McDonald in the second match Monday on the Grandstand (not before 12:30 p.m.).
Americans Mitchell Krueger and Maxime Cressy as well as Radu Albot, Elias Ymer and Seongchang Hong round out the group of six qualifiers on the men’s side.
