WASHINGTON — The 2017 Citi Open, whose main draw opens Monday at Rock Creek Park Tennis Center in Northwest D.C., received an unexpected but welcomed boost to its tournament field in mid-July.
Less than two weeks before the region’s annual date with the ATP and WTA Tours, top-10 players Milos Raonic and Grigor Dimitrov accepted wild cards into the men’s draw, while world No. 2 Simona Halep and 2015 D.C. champion Sloane Stephens did the same on the women’s side.
“I’d like to say this was all planned, but it wasn’t,” first-year tournament director Keely O’Brien said of the late additions. “This was some wonderful luck for us.”
Along with previous commits Dominic Thiem (world No. 7) and Kei Nishikori (No. 8), Raonic (No. 9) and Dimitrov (No. 10) give the Citi Open four of the ATP’s top-10 players. World No. 11 Alexander Zverev is also competing in D.C. for the third consecutive year.
“These players are looking to keep their rankings and playing a 500-level tournament on the men’s side, all those [ranking] points certainly help,” O’Brien said. “If they can play well here and pick up some points, that will just help them going into the summer [hard court season].”
The ATP bracket of the Citi Open (formerly the Legg Mason Classic) is comprised of 48 players, with the top 16 seeds receiving first-round byes. Thirty-two players make up the WTA bracket.
Outside of the four Grand Slams, the Citi Open is one of just 13 tournaments that includes both men’s and women’s draws at the same event in one setting.
“We have a full package,” O’Brien said. “We have a great opportunity to showcase the best players in the world on one site. We’ve been thrilled with having everyone here together.”
[custom_gallery]