The Paris Olympics are in full swing, but don’t forget about the lead-up to the U.S. Open on the other side of the pond. A 500-point tournament is coming up this week, as the Citi Open takes place in Washington, D.C.
Even though it directly conflicts with the Olympics, the Washington event has managed to attract a decent field. Andrey Rublev leads the way as the No. 1 seed, followed by Ben Shelton, Karen Khachanov, Sebastian Korda, and Frances Tiafoe.
Rublev and Tiafoe are in a stacked top quarter of the bracket, but both players have struggled for the most part in 2024. Each man can get hot at any moment (see: Rublev in Madrid and Tiafoe at Wimbledon), so neither can be written off in the district. Still, the door is open in that section and Atlanta semifinalist Jerry Shang is among those who could take advantage. The top half of the draw also includes Korda, Jordan Thompson, and Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard.
Shelton headlines the other side of the draw and has an extremely favorable path to at least the semifinals. That’s where he could face either Khachanov, Alejandro Davidovich Fokina, Alex Michelsen, or perhaps an in-form Flavio Cobolli. Michelsen is making a move from grass to hard courts after coming within a point of the Newport title (ended up losing to Marcos Giron).
Picks
Quarterfinals: Frances Tiafoe over Jerry Shang, Aleksandar Vukic over Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard, Alejandro Davidovich Fokina over Alex Michelsen, and Ben Shelton over Roberto Bautista Agut
Semifinals: Tiafoe over Vukic and Davidovich Fokina over Shelton
Final: Tiafoe over Davidovich Fokina
[yop_poll id=”1374″]
who ya got?