Second-round action in Washington, D.C. gets underway on Wednesday, when Frances Tiafoe faces Aslan Karatsev. Emil Ruusuvuori and No. 10 seed Yoshihito Nishioka are also aiming or a place in the last 16.
Aslan Karatsev vs. (2) Frances Tiafoe
Tiafoe and Karatsev will be going head-to-head for the second time in their careers and for the second time this season when they meet again in round two of the Citi Open on Wednesday. Their only previous encounter came at the recent French Open, where Tiafoe prevailed 3-6, 6-3, 7-5, 6-2.
The 10th-ranked American has home-court advantage this time around–not only because this is the United States, but Tiafoe is actually from the Washington, D.C. area. Moreover, he is 30-11 this season wheres Karatsev is just 13-12 on the main tour following a 7-6(3), 6-1 defeat of qualifier Kiranpal Pannu on Monday. Tiafoe will have a ton of crowd support and he should be able to deliver with a straight-set victory.
Pick: Tiafoe in 2
Emil Ruusuvuori vs. (10) Yoshihito Nishioka
Already having a match under their belt can often be an advantage for unseeded players facing seeded opponents who earned fist-round byes. That may not be enough of a factor for Karatsev to upset Tiafoe, but it could help Ruusuvuori. The 55th-ranked Finn dismissed Constant Lestienne 6-4, 6-4 on Monday, going over .500 for the season with a 20-19 record. Nishioka got a bye as the 10th seed and therefore has not played since losing right away in Atlanta at the hands of eventual runner-up Aleksandar Vukic.
The world No. 31 from Japan doesn’t have many hard-court matches under his belt and he has zero wins lifetime against Ruusuvuori. All three of their previous meetings have gone the way of the 24-year-old, who is 7-1 in total sets after most recently beating Nishioka 6-2, 6-2, 4-6, 6-4 at Wimbledon in 2022. Look for Ruusuvuori to remain perfect in this matchup.
Pick: Ruusuvuori in 3
WWW?
Tiafoe in 3; Russo in 2