WASHINGTON — Frances Tiafoe held court with reporters and Taylor Fritz and Venus Williams put in final practice work Saturday at the William H.G. FitzGerald Tennis Center, as the Mubadala Citi DC Open opened its main draw Monday at Rock Creek Park.
Tiafoe, the Hyattsville native who has become the tournament’s biggest draw, reflected on his ties to the event during his pre-tournament press conference. “Every time I watched pro tennis, I remember sneaking in here,” Tiafoe said, adding that he has “more appreciation for it as I get older, because [of] seeing it develop, seeing the people get more and more excited to see me play and be here every year.”
Fritz, the tournament’s No. 3 seed, worked through drills on an outer practice court ahead of his first-round match, while Venus Williams — back in Washington on a main-draw wild card in both singles and doubles — ran through baseline work of her own. The 46-year-old is entered in DC singles for the first time in several years and opens against unseeded Anastasia Potapova.
The Mubadala Citi DC Open’s main draw runs through Sunday at Rock Creek Park Tennis Center. Fritz opens against Zizou Bergs on Monday at 3 p.m. on Stadium Court, and Tiafoe faces Terence Atmane later that night at 8:30 p.m., also on Stadium.