Defending champ A. Zverev rallies into semifinal
WASHINGTON — Alexander Zverev, last year’s Citi Open champion, is two wins away from defending his title.
The top-seeded Zverev advanced to the semifinals Friday night at Rock Creek Park Tennis Center despite losing the first set to No. 7 seed Kei Nishikori and weathering a 2½ -hour rain delay. Zverev, who’s ranked third in the world, defeated Nishikori, who’s ranked 20th and was the 2015 Citi Open champion, 3-6, 6-1, 6-4.
In the semifinals today, Zverev will face No. 10 seed Stefanos Tsitsipas, a 19-year-old up-and-comer from Greece. Both of their matches Friday were interrupted by rain, but Tsitsipas’ break during his 6-3, 6-4 win over No. 3 seed David Goffin was much shorter, and he said winning in straight sets helped him save energy.
“It kind of sucks having the rain in the middle of all of your own service games, but things happen,” Zverev said. “It’s OK. We’re all used to it here by now.”
Australia’s Alex de Minaur advanced to the semifinals after former top-rankd player Andy Murray withdrew. All three of Murray’s matches in Washington went to three sets, including a round-of-16 match that ended after 3 a.m. Friday.
The last quarterfinal, between Denis Kudla, an alumnus of the Junior Tennis Champions Center in College Park, and No. 16 seed Andrey Rublev, was pushed to today by the inclement weather.
A win Sunday would give Tsitsipas his first ATP title. He never let Goffin take the lead during Friday’s match. Top seed Alexander Zverev pumps his fist after beating Kei Nishikori, 3-6, 6-1, 6-4, in a quarterfinal at Rock Creek Park. Zverev will play No. 10 seed Stefanos Tsitsipas today.
“You’re just secure when you break from the beginning of the match, beginning of the set,” Tsitsipas said. “You can execute your plan and your game much more easily than you would in a very tense, close score. It’s super important.”
This time last year, Tsitsipas was ranked 164th. Nowhe’s up to 32nd, and Friday’s win came against the world’s 11th-ranked player, who has won four ATP titles.
“He’s been playing great this season . . . so hopefully it’ll be a good match,” Zverev said.
At the Barcelona Open in April, Tsitsipas made it to the final, where he lost to Spanish icon Rafael Nadal. At Wimbledon last month, he reached the round of 16, becoming the first Greek man to do so in the professional era, which began in 1968.
Wearing a bright pink shirt and matching headband Friday, Tsitsipas wandered around the court after he had shaken hands with Goffin and the official. Hewaved to the crowd and pumped his fist.
“The only option I have is to grow as a player, become better each year,” he said. “Each year I aim for more than the year before, which keeps me motivated to do better, chase the rankings, go higher. It’s super satisfying.”
On the women’s side, Andrea Petkovic reached the semifinals by defeating No. 6 seed Belinda Bencic, 6-3, 2-6, 7-6 (10-8), in the only quarterfinal completed so far.
Murray, who announced his withdrawal during the day Friday after his third three-set match in four days, is coming back from a hip injury that caused him to miss 11 months of competition.
“I won’t be able to play my match tonight,” he said in a statement. “I’m exhausted after playing so much over the last [four] days, having not competed on the hard courts for 18 months. I also need to be careful and to listen to my body as I come back from a long-term injury. I’m gutted not to be playing, and I’d like to thank the tournament and all the fans. There are lots of positives to take from this week, so I’ll take some time to rest and recover … and then head to Cincinnati early to prepare and get ready.”
Murray, who also pulled out of next week’s event in Toronto, hinted that withdrawing was a possibility when he spoke with reporters after his match ended at 3:02 a.m. Friday.
“Finishing matches at 3 in the morning is not good,” he told reporters. “It’s not good for the players. It’s not good for anyone, I don’t think, involved in the event. It’s not good for fans, TV. Nobody.”
The Citi Open has dealt with rain delays all week and has heard feedback from fans and players alike. Rain is an annual part of Washington’s late-summer, hard-court classic, but this week’s schedule has been particularly rough: Matches have been delayed or canceled every day, and on Thursday some players played two singles matches in one night.
Murray’s comments intensified the problem and prompted a response from Citi Open tournament director Keely O’Brien on Friday morning.
“I hope that Andy really takes into consideration this role in his sport and as a global role model to guys and girls on the tour and kids around the world that, when things are difficult and tough and the conditions aren’t great, it’s not okay to just give up,” said O’Brien, who is in her second year helming the tournament. “I hope we see him on court tonight, fighting like he did last night, because that, I believe, is the right message for anyone in this sport. Certainly, if he can’t play because of his injury, that’s one thing. But he’s a fighter, and he doesn’t give up, and he needs to have everyone see that.”
Second-seeded John Isner described the weather as simply part of the game after losing to American wild card Noah Rubin on Thursday in a match that was delayed a full day.
“[On Wednesday], Noah and I were here for warmup at 4 o’clock, we were totally ready to go right around10 p.m. or whatever it was, then it starts pouring down rain,” Isner said. “Then warmup at 12:30 a.m., then it starts pouring down rain. It’s not ideal, but we’re all dealing with it. … It’s just unfortunate that the rain has sort of wreaked havoc so far.”