Will a star like Felix Auger-Aliassime or Andy Murray emerge from the Mubadala Citi DC Open as champion?
The former Top 10 players, who practised together on Saturday, will try to make a splash at this week’s ATP 500 in the United States’ capital. The pair cannot meet in the draw until the championship match.
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Auger-Aliassime is the third seed and will face an opening test against reigning Dallas Open champion Wu Yibing or Japan’s Yosuke Watanuki. This will be the Canadian’s third appearance in Washington, having lost in the third round in 2019 and 2021.
The 22-year-old, currently No. 12 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings, was upset in the first round at both Roland Garros and Wimbledon and will be keen to find his form this week.
Photo: Peter Staples
Former World No. 1 Murray has more experience in Washington, having tallied a 7-3 record at the event. The Scot first competed in the tournament in 2006, before the creation of the ATP 500 series.
That year, Murray defeated a series of notable opponents — Feliciano Lopez, Mardy Fish and Dmitry Tursunov among them — en route to the final, which he lost to Arnaud Clement. The Scot in 2018 even played a match at the Mubadala Citi DC Open that ended after 3 a.m.
One year on from a first-round exit in Washington, the 15th seed will open against Atlanta finalist Aleksandar Vukic or 2022 Next Gen ATP Finals champion Brandon Nakashima. He could face top seed Taylor Fritz in the third round.
