Tennis

Citi Open Seeds 2023 – Top Seeds and Their Progress

August 6, 2023 7:42 am

Citi Open is one of the tournaments of the US Open series and the only event that features both ATP and WTA tournaments of the 500 series. The tournament will take place from July 29 – August 6 at the William H.G. FitzGerald Tennis Center in Rock Creek Park in Washington, D.C. The tournament was first played in 1969, and until 1986 it was played on clay courts. Since 2011, Citi Open features a women’s event.

Citi Open
Photo: Scott Taetsch-USA TODAY Sports/Sipa USA
By Icon Sport

Both men’s and women’s tournaments will feature 64 in the main draw and accordingly, 16 players from each competition are seeded. In the following lines, we will take a closer look at the seeded players at the Citi Open.

Citi Open Seeds Men’s Singles

The men’s tournament will feature five of the Top 20 players in the ATP rankings and last year’s winner Nick Kyrgios will not be among them. Here are the top 8 seeded players of the ATP Citi Open.

1. Taylor Fritz

Fritz is out after a semifinal loss to Tallon Griekspoor 3-6, 6-3, 6-2. He started the tournament well with a straight-set win over world No. 233, Zachary Svajda.

In the round of 16, he defeated former world No. 1, Andy Murray 6-7, 6-3, 6-4. The next in line was Jordan Thompson who stood no chance in the quarterfinals as Fritz won 6-3, 6-3.

Fritz is the highest-ranked US player, currently ninth in the world. The 25-year-old is 40-16 for the season and 24-5 on hard. This will be his fourth appearance in Washington DC, and his best result was the round of 16 last year. His only title this year came in Delray Beach.

  • Semifinal: Loss vs Griekspoor 3-6, 6-3, 6-2
  • Quarterfinal: Win vs Thompson 6-3, 6-3
  • Round of 16: Win vs Murray 6-7, 6-3, 6-4
  • Second round: Win vs Svajda 6-3, 6-3

2. Frances Tiafoe

Tiafoe had a tough start of the tournament but proved that he is ready to handle the pressure. The second seed needed two tiebreaks to go past world No. 75 Aslan Karatsev. In the round of 16, Tiafoe defeated the 149th player in the world, Juncheng Shang 6-2, 6-3 before losing 6-4, 7-5 to Daniel Evans in the quarterfinals.

Recently, Tiafoe reached the top 10 for the rankings for the first time in his career. He is 31-14 for the season and 15-5 on hard. Last season, he reached the quarterfinals in DC and this will be his first tournament since Wimbledon. Tiafoe has two titles this season in Stuttgart and Houston.

  • Quarterfinals: Loss vs Evans 4-6, 5-7
  • Round of 16: Win vs Shang 6-2, 6-3
  • Second round: Win vs Karatsev 7-6, 7-6

3. Felix Auger-Aliassime

This was another disappointing tournament for the Canadian, who lost the opening match 7-6, 7-6 to world No. 99, Yosuke Watanuki.

Auger-Aliassime was back in action for the first time after he lost in the opening round at Wimbledon. Auger-Aliassime is currently 12th in the world and has a 14-13 record, including 10-7 on hard. The 22-year-old won 4 titles last season but is still looking for the first this year.

  • Second round: Loss vs Watanuki 6-7, 6-7

4. Hubert Hurkacz

The fourth seed is already out after the opening round of the tournament. Hurkacz ran into the world No. 112, Michael Mmoh, and failed short in the decisive tiebreak.

Hurkacz is 16th in the world and has never made it past the second round in Washington. He is 26-16 for the season and 9-7 on hard. The 26-year-old has one title this season in Marseille.

  • Second round: Loss vs Mmoh 3-6, 7-6, 6-4

5. Grigor Dimitrov

The fifth seed had a solid start to the Citi Open, defeating Mackenzie McDonald in the second round 7-6, 6-2. In the round of 16, Dimitrov defeated Emil Ruusuvuori 6-4, 6-3 before a walkover in the quarterfinals after Ugo Humbert withdrew due to an injury. In the semifinals, he failed world No. 30, Daniel Evans losing in straight sets.

The Bulgarian is 20th in the rankings and has a 27-13 record for the season, including 7-4 on hard. He had a solid performance at Wimbledon, reaching the round of 16, and has not won a singles title since 2017.

  • Semifinal: Loss vs Evans 3-6, 6-7
  • Quarterfinals: Walkover vs Humbert
  • Round of 16: Win vs Ruusuvuori 6-4, 6-3
  • Second round: Win vs McDonald 7-6, 6-2

6. Alexander Bublik

Bublik failed in his opening match of the tournament losing to former World No. 6, Gael Monfils 6-3, 6-4.

The player from Kazakhstan is ranked 26th in the world which is the highest ranking in his career. He is 20-23 for the season and 3-9 on hard. Bublik won the title in Halle earlier this year. He will start the tournament against the winner of the match between Gael Monfils and Bjorn Fratangelo.

  • Second round: Loss vs Monfils 3-6, 4-6

7. Adrian Mannarino

Mannarino is also out after the first match losing 7-5, 6-4 to Jordan Thompson.

Mannarino came to Washington DC after winning the title in Newport last week. The French veteran is 27th in the rankings and has a 26-22 record, including 9-9 on hard.

  • Second round: Loss vs Thompson 4-6, 5-7

8. Sebastian Korda

Korda is eliminated in the opening round of the tournament losing 7-5, 6-7, 4-6 to world No. 93, Alexander Shevchenko.

Korda is 28th in the rankings and has not played since Wimbledon. The 23-year-old is 12-9 for the season and 8-3 on hard. Last year, he reached the quarterfinals in DC.

  • Second round: Loss vs Shevchenko 7-5, 6-7, 4-6

Rest of the seeds: (9) Daniel Evans (10) Yohishito Nishioka, (11) Christopher Eubanks, (12) Tallon Griekspoor, (13) Ugo Humbert, (14) Ben Shelton (15) Andy Murray, (16) J.J. Wolf

Citi Open
Photo: Scott Taetsch-USA TODAY Sports/Sipa USA
By Icon Sport

Citi Open Seeds Women’s Singles

Liudmila Samsonova is the defending champion at the Citi Open and she is among the seeds this year. Just like in the men’s draw, two of the top three seeds are home players.

1. Jessica Pegula

The top seed lost in the semifinals against Maria Sakkari in three sets. Pegula started the tournament with a 6-3, 6-4 win over Payton Stearns in the round of 16. In the quarterfinals, the highest ranked American player defeated Elina Svitolina 4-6, 6-3, 6-4.

The 2019 Citi Open champion is fourth in the WTA rankings and has a 37-12 record, including 21-6 on hard.

  • Semifinals: Loss vs Sakkari 6-3, 4-6, 6-2
  • Quarterfinals: Win vs Svitolina 4-6, 6-3, 6-4
  • Round of 16: Win vs Stearns 6-3, 6-4

2. Caroline Garcia

Garcia lost to Marga Kostyuk in the first match in Washington 6-2, 6-3.

Garcia is fifth in the WTA ranking. This will be her first appearance in Washington. The French has a 29-15 record for the season and 13-7 on hard. She will start the tournament against Marta Kostyuk.

  • Round of 16: Loss vs Kostyuk 2-6, 3-6

3. Coco Gauff

Gauff started the tournament strong with a 6-1, 6-4 win over Hailey Baptiste. In the quarterfinals, she will defeated Belinda Bencic 6-1, 6-2. In the semifinals, the 19-year-old will defeated the Citi Open defending champion, Ludmila Samsonova in straight sets. In the final, she will face Maria Sakkari.

The American teenager is 7th in the rankings and has a 30-12 record for the season and 18-5 on hard. She won the title in Auckland at the beginning of the year.

  • Semifinals: Win vs Samsonova 6-3, 6-3
  • Quarterfinals: Win vs Bencic 6-1, 6-2
  • Round of 16: Win vs Baptiste 6-1, 6-4

4. Maria Sakkari

Sakkari started the tournament with a 7-5, 6-2 win over Leylah Fernandez in the round of 16. In the quarterfinals, the Greek defeated Madison Keys 6-3, 6-3. In the semifinal, Sakkari defeated the top seed, Jessica Pegula in three sets.

The world No. 9 is back in action after a first round loss at Wimbledon. The Greek is 26-14 for the season and 14-6 on hard.

  • Semifinals: Win vs Pegula 6-3, 4-6, 6-2
  • Quarterfinals: Win vs Keys 6-3, 6-3
  • Round of 16: Win vs Fernandez 7-5, 6-2

5. Daria Kasatkina

Kasatkina started the tournament with a 6-3, 7-5 over Elise Mertens. In the round of 16, she lost against Elina Svitolina 6-2, 6-2.

Kasatkina is 11th in the rankings. She is 24-18 for the season and 6-9 on hard.

  • Quarterfinals: Loss vs Svitolina 2-6, 2-6
  • Round of 16: Win vs Mertens 6-3, 7-5

6. Belinda Bencic

Bencic is started the tournament with a walk through after Anastasia Potapova retired in the opening round with the Swiss leading 6-5 in the first set. In the round of 16, she defeated Lauren Davis 6-1, 6-4. In the quarterfinals, Bencic stood no chance against Coco Gauff winning only three games in the match.

The Swiss player is 15th in the rankings and has won two titles this season, in Adelaide and Abu Dhabi. The 26-year-old is 24-8 for the season and 17-5 on hard.

  • Quarterfinals: Loss vs Gauff 6-1, 6-2
  • Round of 16: Win vs Davis 6-1, 6-4
  • First round: Win vs Potapova 6-5, ret.

7. Madison Keys

Keys started the tournament with a 7-5, 6-1 win over Qinwen Zheng. In the round of 16, she was even more dominant, defeating Jennifer Brady 6-4, 6-0. In the quarterfinals, the American lost to Maria Sakkari 6-3, 6-3.

Keys is back in DC for the first time since 2019. The world No. 16 is 27-9 for the season and 13-5 on hard. She won the title in Eastbourne earlier this year.

  • Quarterfinals: Loss vs Sakkari 6-3, 6-3
  • Round of 16: Win vs Brady 6-4, 6-0
  • First round: Win vs Zheng 7-5, 6-1

8. Liudmila Samsonova

The defending champion started with a 6-1, 6-3 win over Daniele Collins. In the round of 16, she defeated Sorana Cirstea 6-1, 6-3. In the quarterfinals, Samsonova went past Marta Kostyuk 6-4, 6-2. In the semifinals she lost to Coco Gauff in straight sets.

Samsonova is 17th in the world. She has a 18-16 record for the season and 10-8 on hard.

  • Semifinal: Loss vs Gauff 3-6, 3-6
  • Quarterfinals: Win vs Kostyuk 6-4, 6-2
  • Round of 16: Win vs Cirstea 6-1, 6-3
  • First round: Win vs Collins 6-1, 6-3

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