The No.1 seeds at the Mubadala Citi DC Open have officially entered the chat.
Despite having to overcome shaky starts, both Andrey Rublev and Aryna Sabalenka ultimately won their opening matches on Stadium Court. Americans Ben Shelton and Alex Michelsen plus 2021 U.S. Open champion Emma Raducanu were also among Wednesday’s winners.
Competing for the first time since having to withdraw from Wimbledon with a shoulder injury, Sabalenka was pushed in her opening match.
The two-time Australian Open champion eventually held off qualifier Kamilla Rakimova 7-5, 4-6, 6-4 in a two-hour and 46-minute marathon - the longest match of the tournament to date.
“I'm super happy to be back on court,” Sabalenka said soon after her first match in 39 days. “I didn't play in months it feels like... Happy to get through this tough match. She played incredible tennis. I'm just super happy to get this win.”
Regarding the shoulder issue that kept her from Wimbledon, Sabalenka is hopeful it’s behind her.
“I really hope it's okay,” she said. “At least I was able to serve without pain. It's not going to be easy to come back after injury, especially the one I had. I feel okay and we'll see how I feel [Thursday]. But I really, really hope I'm going to be alright for the next match.”
Sabalenka will next face former World No.1 Victoria Azarenka or Yafan Wang in the quarterfinals.
TRAVEL-WEARY RUBLEV MOVES ON
Rublev, who spent more than 16 hours just to get here from Umag, Croatia, last Saturday – only to wait another three days for his luggage to arrive – was admittedly rusty to begin his match against Frenchman Luca Van Assche.
“It was tough,” Rublev conceded. “I was not in a rhythm. I was not understanding where to play, how to play. The first match on hard court was not easy.”
The World No.8, though, made the most of a two-and-a-half-hour rain delay midway through the second set, turning his match around and rallying past Van Assche 4-6, 6-3, 6-4.
“After the rain delay, I was able to start to be more active. I was not missing that much. I was serving more consistently.
“It's really important that I was able to turn it around with the game that I had today. I was able to win the match. Those matches are very important and they give a lot of confidence.”
Rublev served up four consecutive aces to close out the second set in style and fittingly fired a 125MPH ace – his 15th of the match – to secure the win and book a third-round date with No.16 Arthur Rinderknech.
BEN SHELTON EARNS LATE-NIGHT WIN
Elsewhere on Wednesday, in a late-night match that didn’t end until 1:45 a.m., Shelton beat qualifier Radu Albot 6-4, 6-7(5), 6-3.
“It was a physical test for me,” Shelton said after another match that lasted north of two hours. “I was tired in that third set, I was here a lot later than I wanted to be tonight. I had to dig deep. I wasn’t going to be the guy to give in tonight. I’m happy with the way I fought and competed. I came up with the shots and serves I needed to in the big moments.”
Shelton now faces a quick turnaround with a late-afternoon meeting with Brandon Nakashima on Stadium Court Thursday (not before 4 p.m.). The winner will advance to the quarterfinals.
EMMA RADUCANU CONTINUES RECENT SURGE
Raducanu continues to march on in DC, reaching the quarterfinals for the second time in as many trips to the nation’s capital. The British wild card beat 2022 NCAA champion Peyton Stearns 7-6(6), 6-2 on John Harris Court to reach her third quarterfinal in her last four tournaments overall.
Ranked outside the top 200 when the grass court season began, Raducanu has since won 10 of her last 13 matches.
After her latest triumph, Raducanu lauded the support from the DC crowd.
“I honestly felt like I was at home,” she said. “That was unbelievable. I really felt the love here in DC. I do love DC. I'm really, really pleased to be able to play here another match, play with amazing support. Such good patience from the fans waiting for two hours [during the rain delay]. Yeah, I'm really grateful to feel the love here in DC.”
Raducanu will next face either Paula Badosa or 2022 DC champion Liudmila Samsonova in the quarterfinals.
