Tag Archives: Citi Open

Rafael Nadal Eyeing Return to Competitive Tennis Play at Next Month’s Mubadala World Tennis Championship

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Rafael Nadal is hoping to return to the court next month…

The 35-year-old Spanish professional tennis player is aiming to return from injury at an exhibition event in Abu Dhabi next month before playing another tournament in his buildup to the Australian Open, the world No. 5 said.

Rafael Nadal

Nadal struggled with back issues at the start of this year and pulled out of Wimbledon and the 2020 Tokyo Games.

He last competed in August at the Citi Open in Washington.

He announced ahead of the U.S. Open that the injury to his left foot would rule him out for the rest of the year but said this week that he might return at the December 16-18 Mubadala World Tennis Championship exhibition event.

“My plan is to play Abu Dhabi in December and a tournament before playing the Australian Open. It is my goal and we are working hard to make it that way,” Nadal said at a sponsor event in Paris.

“I don’t know exactly when I’ll be back, but I can say that my goal is to try to come back to Abu Dhabi in December, and then, of course, for the start of the new season in January.

“The injury in my foot still needs to get a little better, but I’m already training almost an hour-and-a-half a day so that’s positive.”

World No. 12 Dominic Thiem, who hasn’t played since suffering a wrist injury at the Mallorca Open in June, will also return to competitive tennis in Abu Dhabi.

 

Nadal will be bidding for a men’s record 21st major title at the Australian Open, which is scheduled to start on January 17.

Rafael Nadal to Make Debut at Citi Open in Washington, D.C.

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Rafael Nadal is gearing up for hard-court season…

The 35-year-old Spanish tennis star will return to competition later this month by making his debut at the Citi Open in Washington.

Rafael Nadal

Organizers of the hard-court tournament have announced that the 20-time Grand Slam champion is in the field for the July 31 to August 8 event that serves as a US Open tuneup.

Nadal has not played since his loss to Novak Djokovic in the semifinals of the French Open last month.

He decided to sit out Wimbledon, which ends Sunday, and the Tokyo Olympics, which open July 23, saying his body needed time to rest and recover after the clay-court season.

Other players entered in the Citi Open include Wimbledon semifinalists Denis Shapovalov and Hubert Hurkacz, who beat Roger Federer on Wednesday.

Wimbledon quarterfinalists Felix Auger-Aliassime and Karen Khachanov also are entered.

The tournament says Rock Creek Park Tennis Center will be allowed to have spectators at 50% of capacity. Last year’s Citi Open was canceled because of the pandemic.

del Potro Claims Third Citi Open Title…

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Juan Martin del Potro is three-for-three at Washington. D.C.’s Citi Open…

The 24-year-old Argentine tennis star, the tournament’s top seed, defeated John Isner 3-6, 6-1, 6-2  in the Citi Open final on Sunday to claim his third championship and 14th consecutive match in Washington.

Juan Martin del Potro

“His forehand is widely regarded as maybe the best in the world,” said Isner. “I couldn’t do anything about it. I actually wasn’t really surprised. I’ve seen him do that a lot of times. That’s what he does. He’s got a lot of talent, and a lot of talent on that forehand side.”

Back in 2009, del Potro followed up a title in the nation’s capital with a trophy at the U.S. Open, which starts in three weeks.

“Fantastic memories,” the seventh-ranked del Potro told the crowd.

When the Argentine arrived in Washington this time, he came with some questions about his body and his game. He hadn’t played a hard-court match since the spring. He hadn’t competed at all in nearly a month — a five-set loss on July 5 to No. 1 Novak Djokovic in the longest semifinal in Wimbledon history, more than 4½ hours. And he hadn’t fully tested the left knee he hyperextended in a tumble during a match at the All England Club.

“I’m surprised to win this tournament,” del Potro said.

del Potro added to his Washington titles from 2008 and 2009. He skipped the tournament for various reasons from 2010-12.

Next for del Potro are hard-court tournaments in Montreal and Cincinnati. Those lead up to the U.S. Open, where Isner said del Potro will be “certainly one of the top favorites.”

del Potro Defeats Tommy Haas to Reach Citi Open Final

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Juan Martin del Potro may soon be celebrating a career quinceañera…

The 24-year-old Argentine tennis player – the top seed at Washington, D.C.’s Citi Open – beat third-seeded Tommy Haas 7-6 (4), 6-3 in the semifinals Saturday to earn a chance to claim his fifteenth career ATP title.

Juan Martin del Potro

del Potro stretched his winning streak at the hard-court tuneup for the U.S. Open to 13 matches. He claimed the title at the Washington tournament in 2008 and 2009, then skipped it the past three years.

Trailing Haas 4-1 when a downpour caused a three-hour delay in play, 2009 U.S. Open champion stormed back to win four games in a row.

“The rain delay’s annoying. It bothers me a lot, actually,” said Haas, who showed frustration at various moments by spiking, tossing or kicking his racket. “Come back out there, and the momentum was really on my side, at least for the first set, I think. (If) it would have been mine, it would have been maybe a different match. But these are all the ‘ifs’ and ‘buts’ and not worth talking about.”

Still, Haas actually held two set points late in the first, one of which del Potro erased with a 117 mph second-serve ace, and the other with a volley winner.

“He went for it,” said Haas, a finalist last year. “He deserved it.”

del Potro now faces John Isner in the finals on Sunday.

“Nobody can break his serve in this tournament. … Of course, sometimes you get frustrated when you can’t return his serve,” said del Potro, looking ahead to facing Isner.