WASHINGTON, D.C. — With the Olympics in London this week, all eyes are focused on the overseas action. But tennis fans in the U.S. have a home-grown tournament right in their nation’s capital, the Citi Open run by Lagardere Unlimited which runs all week.
In view of tough competition from the Olympics for tennis, I spoke with long-time Citi open Tournament Director Jeff Newman about the impact of having a top-tier tournament during the same week as the Olympics and whether there was a choice to move the tournament.
“Traditionally, we are positioned in one of the best weeks of the ATP and now WTA calendars,” Newman stated. “We are right before the 1000 Master events in Cincinnati and Canada. So, every four years, in order to have that date, sure, we are up against the Olympics. But we always try to focus on who is here and not on who is not. And we feel that we have great fields this year.”
With speculation that world No. 13 and top seed Mardy Fish might pull out of the Citi Open due to an ankle injury sustained in Atlanta two weeks ago, the men’s typically American-heavy draw could have been hardest hit. Luckily, Fish was seen on the courts today playing an intense practice set with Tommy Haas, a former semifinalist here in 2008. Fish, although ranked high enough to make the U.S. Men’s Olympic team, elected to skip the Olympics this year.
Newman goes on to solidify his statement about the strength of both the men’s and women’s field. “We have Mardy Fish, who clearly is a great story; Brian Baker, the comeback kid of the year; Sam Querrey who is in the L.A. finals today; Tommy Haas, who was a former world No. 2, and James Blake. And on our women’s side with Sloane Stephens, making the great run she did at the French Open; Melanie Oudin, who won her first tournament recently.”
The women’s field also includes world No. 28 and top seeded Russian Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova and South African Chanelle Scheepers who also bypassed the Olympics for a spot in D.C.
With the ticket prices not altering from last year, attending the Citi Open gives fans even “more value for your money than any previous years,” admits Newman.
“Sure, are there stars overseas for the Olympics? Of course. But at the same time, we have a very entertaining field in store for fans.”
The Citi Open runs through Sunday, August 5 with the women’s doubles final scheduled for Friday, August 3, the women’s singles final on Saturday, Aug 4, and the men’s doubles and singles final on Sunday, August 5. The television schedule is as follows on ESPN2 and The Tennis Channel.
ESPN2
Fri, Aug 3, 5-9pm
Sat, Aug 4, 3-5pm
Sun, Aug 5, 4-6pm
Tennis Channel
Thurs, Aug 2, 4-8pm
Fri, Aug 3, 2-4pm & 9-11pm
Sat, Aug 4, 7-9pm
For live updates from the Citi Open, follow me on twitter @TennisRomi!
