By Erik Gudris | Wednesday, August 2, 2017
Top seed Dominic Thiem and former winner Juan Martin del Potro were several players who overcame a long rain delay to win their opening round match in Washington D.C.
WTA: Halep Hammers Stephens in D.C. Debut
Rain didn’t stop several marquee ATP players or tennis fans from getting through a soggy Tuesday at the Citi Open in Washington, D.C.
An over three hour rain delay in the afternoon interrupted several matches in progress forcing the schedule to go into the wee hours of the morning. Top seed Dominic Thiem took care of business as he made his tournament debut.
Thiem secured an efficient 6-3 6-3 second round win over Switzerland’s Henri Laaksonen. Thiem however doesn’t view himself as the top seed in what is a stacked men’s field.
“There are, I think, five, six players to beat, it’s such a strong tournament,” Thiem said to Tennis Channel. “I think there should be basically four or five top seeds, and I’m one of them.”
No. 2 seed and 2015 champion Kei Nishikori battled into the early morning before seeing off Donald Young 6-3, 4-6, 7-6(5).
Yet one of the lowest seeds is perhaps the biggest draw at this year’s event - No. 13 seed Juan Martin del Potro.
The three-time event winner returns to D.C riding a 14-match win streak at the tournament stretching all the way back to 2008. Del Potro, back in D.C. for the first time in three years, faced off against Lukas Lacko on the smaller Grandstand court where their match got rescheduled.
Del Potro jumped out to a 4-1 lead but Lacko clawed his way back to 4-all. Del Potro, with huge serving managed to finally close out the set 7-5.
The former 2009 US Open champion then closed out the match 7-5, 6-2.
“I think I got lucky to come back at the end of the first set,” del Potro said. “I broke his serve in the 5-all, playing good tennis and I think my game is starting to do well in the second set and I closed the match with a good level of tennis.”
Del Potro next faces Nishikori in the third round.
(Photo Credit: Getty Images)