WASHINGTON, July 31, 2023 (by Michael Dickens)

The main draw for the Mubadala Citi DC Open came into focus as the final day of qualifying wrapped up Sunday for both women’s and men’s singles under sunny skies at the William H.G. FitzGerald Tennis Center in Rock Creek Park, northwest Washington.

The four players who emerged from the WTA 500 qualifying draw include: Magdalena Frech of Poland and Leylah Fernandez of Canada plus a pair of Americans, No. 54 Lauren Davis and No. 204 Hailey Baptiste. On the men’s side, three seeded players among the six who advanced from the ATP 500 qualifying draw include: top seed Juncheng “Jerry” Shang of China, No. 196 Shintaro Mochizuki of Japan and No. 225 Zachary Svajda of the United States.

Into the women’s main draw 🔥

Frech d. Ngounoue 7-6, 7-5
Fernandez d. Boulter 6-4, 6-1
Baptiste d. Stearns 7-6, 6-2
Davis d. Krueger 1-6, 6-3, 7-5#MubadalaCitiDCOpen pic.twitter.com/tR4IO1mQFz

— Mubadala Citi DC Open (@mubadalacitidc) July 30, 2023

In the women’s qualifying draw, the No. 7 seed Frech, ranked 79th, ended the run of 17-year-old D.C. native Clervie Ngounoue, 7-6 (2), 7-5, in two hours and 14 minutes on Stadium Court. Frech broke the service of the 2023 Wimbledon junior girls’ champion four times in 11 tries and outpointed her youthful opponent 104-92.

The 313th-ranked Ngounoue received a qualifying draw wild card last week and won her WTA Tour debut by upsetting No. 1 seed Anna Blinkova of Russia in straight sets, in front of her family and many of her friends. However, on Sunday, her luck but not her determination ran out.

Remember the name ✨

The crowd sharing their appreciation for 17-year-old qualifying wild card and DC native @ClervieNgounoue#MubadalaCitiDCOpen pic.twitter.com/69BGyBEOlz

— Mubadala Citi DC Open (@mubadalacitidc) July 30, 2023

Meanwhile, the 2021 US Open women’s finalist Fernandez, now ranked 88th, put away No. 76 Katie Boulter of Great Britain, 6-4, 6-1, in an hour and 28 minutes. The 20-year-old Fernandez overcame eight double faults by winning 76 percent of her first-serve points and saved three of the five break points she faced. She broke Boulter five times in 11 tries and outpointed her 69-51.

See you in the main draw, @leylahfernandez 🙋‍♀️

The 2021 US Open runner-up sees off Boulter 6-4, 6-1!#MubadalaCitiDCOpen pic.twitter.com/iSSmr1vjGh

— Mubadala Citi DC Open (@mubadalacitidc) July 30, 2023

In the main draw, Frech will oppose 95th-ranked American wild card Sofia Kenin and could meet No. 1 seed Jessica Pegula of the United States in the second round later in the week. Meanwhile, Fernandez will oppose American Bernarda Pera and a win would advance her to face No. 4 seed Maria Sakkari of Greece.

The 156th-ranked Shang struck five aces and saved both break points from No. 12 seed Thai-Son Kwiatkowski of the United States during a 7-6 (5), 6-2 victory in 91 minutes. Next, he will play No. 139 Emilio Gomez of Ecuador.

Mr. and Mrs. Monfils highlight first night of main draw

Kudos to new tournament director Dani Vallverdu and the event marketing staff for highlighting tennis’ top power couple, Elina Svitolina and Gaël Monfils, on Opening Night in back-to-back matches under the lights on the 7,500-seat Stadium Court.

First, the No. 27 Svitolina of Ukraine, who won a title on clay at Strasbourg earlier this year following her comeback from maternity leave and leveraged it with a quarterfinal run at Roland Garros and a semifinal finish at last month’s Wimbledon that included victories over four former major titlists, will face No. 19 Victoria Azarenka in a rematch of their recent Wimbledon tussle. It’s the only win by Svitolina against the former No. 1 and two-time Australian Open champion in six tries dating back to 2015. The two have combined to win 38 career WTA Tour singles titles (21 for Azarenka and 17 for Svitolina).

Media Day vibes 💚🎾@ElinaSvitolina | #MubadalaCitiDCOpen pic.twitter.com/Mq4xfeqUbO

— Mubadala Citi DC Open (@mubadalacitidc) July 30, 2023

Then, Monfils, who won the D.C. title in 2016 and received a wild card into this year’s event, will take on American qualifier Bjorn Fratangelo in the evening’s nightcap.

“Well, it is the draw, you know,” Svitolina explained during her pre-tournament press conference Sunday afternoon. “It was possible that I would be playing Victoria, again. So, I just have to accept this and practice and prepare.”

Azarenka was asked in her own media session about Svitolina’s recent good run of form. “Definitely feels like she’s playing free,” she said. “She’s been playing well. Definitely the results are there. I’m looking forward to, you know, to a challenge for sure.

“Yeah, it’s going to be a battle. It always is.”

Announce @vika7, @PSG_inside 😎#MubadalaCitiDCOpen pic.twitter.com/xj8sRaVv0v

— Mubadala Citi DC Open (@mubadalacitidc) July 30, 2023

Looking ahead to Monday’s Opening Day

Opening play on Stadium Court will be defending champion and this year’s eighth seed Liudmila Samsonova of Russia against American wild card and 2022 Australian Open finalist Danielle Collins followed by Canadian wild card Bianca Andreescu versus Marta Kostyuk of Ukraine. The afternoon in the Stadium concludes with 2021 D.C. finalist Mackenzie McDonald against Diego Schwartzman of Argentina.

Also, an all-star first-round men’s doubles match featuring British wild cards Andy Murray and Daniel Evans against major champions Austin Krajicek of the United States and Mate Pavic of Croatia highlights play on the Grandstand.

Get ready for Main Draw Monday 🔥

Which matches will you be watching?#MubadalaCitiDCOpen pic.twitter.com/qeeXO8GsEP

— Mubadala Citi DC Open (@mubadalacitidc) July 30, 2023

Around the Mubadala Citi DC Open

Several members of the Washington Commanders of the NFL met with tournament stars such as Frances Tiafoe, Coco Gauff and Ben Shelton as well as tournament chairman Mark Ein.

🏈 🤝 🎾

The @NFL came through on Sunday with @Commanders stars @TiTaniumT98, @KeFu11er & @_nickwhiteside meeting players & tournament owner @Markein! #MubadalaCitiDCOpen pic.twitter.com/4lKVHpGFVP

— Mubadala Citi DC Open (@mubadalacitidc) July 31, 2023

By the numbers

Although the Mubadala Citi DC Open is a combined ATP/WTA 500 – a one-of-kind in the world – the prize money and rankings points differ significantly. For instance, the men’s singles champion will earn $353,445 in prize money and 500 points. Meanwhile, the women’s singles champion will win $120,150 in earnings and 470 points.

Both days of qualifying sold out with crowds of 7,500 coming out to Rock Creek Park Tennis Center. The remainder of the tournament is close to a sell out each day.

“Quotable …”

“Yes, actually [this] was one of the reasons to come here, because we could spend time together. So many weeks a year when we’re traveling, it’s nice to have each other, support each other, and spend time together with our teams.”

– Elina Svitolina of Ukraine on the benefits of playing in the same tournament as her husband, Gaël Monfils.