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DC Marathon: Opelka vs Duckworth In The Wee Hours
5 Comments · Posted by Scoop Malinowski in Bios
You have to admire the fighting spirit of Reilly Opelka. Starting his match vs James Duckworth before midnight, he lost the first set in a tiebreaker 12-14 and then hung in there with less than a half dozen fans watching, to grab the second set 75 at 1:30 am.
The crowds have been small so far for the Mubadala Citi Open so far this year, far less than half full in most stadium matches. But Opelka is a gladiator. He ended up beating Duckworth 64 in the third set.
Even the stands were mostly empty for Denis Shapovalov vs Roberto Bautista Agut and that’s surprising because the flamboyant Canadian is a flashy fan favorite, or he was. The 25 year old is now ranked 139 and got into the main draw as a wildcard. Shapovalov was ranked no. 10 in the world in 2020. Next up for Shapovalov will be the 6 seed Adrian Mannarino. The two lefties have played twice previously, both in 2017 and Shapo won at Canadian Open 64 in the third set and then Mannarino avenged that loss with a win in Basel 62 in the third.
Maybe local star Frances Tiafoe will fill the stadium in his opening match vs Daniel Elahi Galan? Or the Citi Open has jumped the shark and interest just isn’t there for this long-standing, successful tournament the way it used to be.
On the women’s side of the Citi Open, Emma Raducanu beat Elise Mertens 64 in the third (another mostly empty stadium) and Amanda Anisimova defeated Sloane Stephens 63 75 to reach the round of 16.
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Randi kane · July 30, 2024 at 11:12 am
Maybe the Paris Olympics is competing or the sheer heat index!
Hope attendance improves its a beautiful venue!
Scoop Malinowski · July 30, 2024 at 1:55 pm
Hi Randi, It’s a fantastic tournament, love the venue, even though it’s old and outdated, hey it’s tradition and classic. Rock Creek Park. as you know, is adjacent to the tennis, and one of America’s nicest parks. The heat is dangerous in DC this time of year, I’ve seen people faint just sitting and watching a match in the bleachers. They used to delay the start of first match till 4 pm but that’s changed. Hopefully the tournament survives this off year and it’s not another omen of the pickleball effect. Citi Open is one of my favorite events.
Scoop Malinowski · July 30, 2024 at 11:14 pm
@mubadalacitidc tickets are now entirely sold out for the rest of the tournament, fourth year in a row. tennis strong in DC.
Cory · August 1, 2024 at 8:25 am
So it was basically that people were not excited about the opening rounds then…? Those are the best rounds! Lesser-knowns and wildcards duking it out for the next round of needed points or money.
Scoop Malinowski · August 1, 2024 at 9:51 am
I guess so Cory, the highlights I saw from day one were all mostly empty courts, so few fans. But now the tournament is bustling as usual. When I was there about ten times it was always bustling from day one to the end. Great energy tournament, very successful. But they always delivered star power names – Delpo, Monfils, Roddick, Hewitt, Raonic, Sock, Bouchard, Sloane, and in the old days Agassi and Connors would always play it. This year the big names are absent but the big crowds proves tennis fans just want to see great tennis not necessarily big stars.