Washington, D.C. R2 previews and predictions: Tiafoe vs. Kovacevic, Sonego vs. Arnaldi

Second-round competition in Washington, D.C. concludes on Wednesday, when Frances Tiafoe takes the court in front of the home crowd against Aleksandar Kovacevic. Italians Lorenzo Sonego and Matteo Arnaldi are also in action.

Aleksandar Kovacevic vs. (6) Frances Tiafoe

Motivation (or lack thereof) can be an issue for Tiafoe at times, but it is almost never a problem in the United States–and especially not at his home tournament, the Mubadala Citi Open in Washington, D.C. A title at this event still eludes the 11th-ranked American, but he has played well there in recent years. In fact, Tiafoe has reached at least the quarterfinals in three consecutive trips–including the semis last summer.

Up first for the No. 6 seed is Kovacevic, who has lost both of their previous encounters. However, both were competitive; Tiafoe prevailed 7-6(3), 4-6, 6-3 at this same Washington tournament last summer before getting the job done 6-4, 6-3, 4-6, 7-5 one month later at the U.S. Open. Kovacevic has been playing great in 2025, but fatigue could be a factor on Wednesday. The 66th-ranked American finished runner-up to Denis Shapovalov this past weekend in Los Cabos and has already played a match in D.C. (beat Quentin Halys in straight sets on Tuesday). This should be another entertaining contest between these two compatriots, but Tiafoe has the edge in just about every department.

Pick: Tiafoe in 2

Matteo Arnaldi vs. (16) Lorenzo Sonego

It will also be a battle between countrymen when Sonego and Arnaldi lock horns on Wednesday for what will surprisingly be their first head-to-head showdown. The recent grass-court swing was quite different for the two Italians. Sonego advanced at least one round on three stops, including a fourth-round effort at Wimbledon–where he won an incredible match against Brandon Nakashima before losing to Ben Shelton in four sets. Arnaldi played only two grass-court matches and lost both.

As he battles back from some minor injury concerns last month, Arnaldi opened in D.C. by beating Daniel Altmaier in a third-set tiebreaker. The world No. 44 trailed by a double-break in the third set and dug out of a triple-match point hole while serving to stay alive. That result is helpful in that it allows Arnaldi to get some more much-needed matches under his belt, but it hardly restores confidence. Sonego, on the other hand, has to be feeling good about his game right now and conditions at this tournament should suit the No. 16 seed very well.

Pick: Sonego in 3