Fritz Earns 250th ATP Hard-Court Victory At Mubadala DC Open

Taylor Fritz
Taylor Fritz (photo: Wick Photography/Mubadala DC Open)

WASHINGTON, July 28, 2026 (by Michael Dickens)

World No. 10 Taylor Fritz and World No. 19 Frances Tiafoe, two of 12 American men in the main draw of the ATP/WTA 500 combined Mubadala DC Open, were in action Opening Day as the 57th edition of the tournament began at Rock Creek Park in northwest Washington, D.C. on Monday.

Fritz and Tiafoe, along with World No. 8 Ben Shelton, are vying to become just the third home men’s champion in the last 20 years, joining Andy Roddick (2007) and Sebastian Korda (2024). 

In the past five years, the DC Open event has been won by Jannik Sinner of Italy (2021), Nick Kyrgios of Australia (2022), Dan Evans of Great Britain (2023), Korda and Alex de Minaur of Australia (2025).

While Fritz seeks his first ATP Tour title of the year after reaching the finals at Dallas, Stuttgart and Halle earlier this season, the Maryland-native Tiafoe aims to become the first man since Andre Agassi (1998-2004) to reach the Washington quarterfinals in five consecutive years.

Meanwhile, Shelton, who is 13-2 at ATP 500 level this season – after title triumphs in Dallas and Munich – will see his first action on Tuesday when he faces American qualifier Martin Damm Jr. On Monday, Shelton was on the doubles court teamed with Diego Hidalgo of Ecuador against No. 2 seeds Christian Harrison of the United States and Neal Skupski of Great Britain. Shelton and Hidalgo went down to a three-set loss. Thus, Shelton, a former NCAA champion from Florida, can now shift his focus to singles.

Fritz, who was competing for the first time since his quarterfinal run at Wimbledon, achieved his 250th ATP Tour hard-court victory with his 6-3, 6-4 first-round win over No. 36 Zizou Bergs of Belgium in 79 minutes on Stadium Court. The American No. 2 fired eight aces and hit 14 winners overall. He won 78 percent (25 of 32) of his first-serve points and saved all four break points he faced from Bergs. Fritz outpointed the Belgian No. 2 68-50 en route to collecting his 24th victory of the season. 

Fritz’s 250th ATP Tour hard-court triumph places him 10th  among active players, well behind first-place Novak Djokovic‘s 741 hard-court victories.

During his on-court interview with ATP Media, Fritz was asked what he was pleased with the most in beating Bergs to advance against either fellow American Tommy Paul or Kamil Majchrzak of Poland, who play Tuesday. He said: “Just how I got out of those service games. He had a few break chances, but when I served out the first and went up a break in the second, I felt like the momentum was on my side at that point. It’s really good to get out of those games and to finish the match unbroken.”

In his pre-tournament news conference on Saturday, Fritz was asked to assess his season thus far. He said: “I still think it’s not – you know, it hasn’t been, like, the best, but I think if I play the level that I know I, I guess, or I think I should be playing for the rest of the year, I have a lot of tournaments that I like for the rest of the year, and I think I’m in a decent place to still have a strong finish for the year.”

Meanwhile, the 28-year-old Tiafoe, making his 10th appearance in Washington – most among active players after debuting in 2014 as a 16-year-old wild card ranked No. 1139 – had reached the quarterfinals in each of the last four editions. He looked to extend his perfect record in opening rounds this season (14-0) and his five-match winning streak at ATP 500 level when he took on 56th-ranked Terence Atmane of France, who was making his Washington main-draw debut, to close out Monday evening’s play on Stadium Court.

However, Atmane had other plans. Despite coming into the match 3-11 versus Top-20 competition (1-6 in 2026) and 1-7 in his last eight tour-level matches – including a first-round loss to Tiafoe at Wimbledon last month – the 24-year-old French lefty pulled off the upset of Tiafoe. Atmane come back from a set down and won, 4-6, 6-3, 6-4, in two hours and four minutes. 

Atmane connected with 10 aces and won 83 percent (43 of 52) of his first-serve points. He broke Tiafoe’s serve three times, including at love in the ninth game of the deciding set, then won on his second match-point opportunity.

“I think mentally I was trying to say to myself, to convince myself, that this time was the good one,” Atmane said during his post-match news conference. “After losing three times straight against Frances with three very big battles, you know, I was just trying to stay locked in, trying to do my things, and just trying to truly believe that I could get it, that I could get this win.”

While Tiafoe gave props to Atmane during his post-match news conference, he took the blame for losing. “My respect to him for winning the match, but very, very poor from my side. I thought I helped him get over the line today, for sure. A lot of mistakes. A lot of easy mistakes, especially on my backhand. Really poor performance in the last two sets from me.”

Draper withdraws from DC Open

After reaching World No. 4 during a breakout 2025 season, Jack Draper of Great Britain has fallen on hard times. Specifically, he’s been unable to shake a left arm injury that has forced him off the ATP Tour for an extended period of time. This year, he’s been limited to just 13 matches (8-5) spread across five ATP Tour events plus a Great Britain Davis Cup tie against Norway.

 

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On Monday, the 147th-ranked Draper withdrew from the DC Open, where he had received a wild card into the main draw. He planned to start his North American hard-court season in Washington and compete for the first time since Eastbourne last month. He had brought Andy Murray on board to coach him and the two had spent time on Stadium Court practicing over the weekend.

“These last months have felt like nothing but adversity and setbacks. Most days I’ve spent in doubt, yet hopeful that I can keep taking positive steps forward and finding ways to progress,” the 24-year-old Draper wrote on Instagram Monday. “On days off, I reflect, and I’m only grateful for the struggle and what it’s teaching me. Finding acceptance and being patient with the process has been my biggest challenge, but I know I’m getting closer to where I want to be!!

“Very lucky to have such amazing people to help guide me through this storm, and so with that… we keep persevering. Thank you for all the support and love ♥️”

 

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Draper’s place in the 32-player singles draw has been taken by American Mackenzie McDonald, who will face fellow U.S. player Alex Michelsen on Tuesday.

Around the Mubadala DC Open

• No. 30 Alejandro Tabilo of Chile gutted out a 7-6 (3), 4-6, 6-4 victory over No. 67 Tallon Griekspoor of the Netherlands behind 38 winners – including 14 aces – that stretched across two hours and 22 minutes on John Harrison Court. Next, Tabilo will face either No. 6 seed Frances Tiafoe of the United States or No. 56 Terence Atmane of France, who played Monday evening on Stadium Court.

• World No. 15 and fourth seed Lorenzo Musetti, who was playing in his first ATP Tour event since Rome after skipping Roland-Garros and Wimbledon due to a thigh injury, advanced by retirement over No. 35 and fellow Italian Matteo Arnaldi after just 40 minutes on John Harrison Court. Next, Musetti will face 105th-ranked qualifier Aleksandar Vukic of Australia, who defeated No. 76-ranked American lucky loser Zachary Svajda, 6-3, 6-1, in 50 minutes on the Grandstand Court.

• Kei Nishikori, who won the 2015 DC Open title, is making his final appearance in Washington this week, after the former-World No. 4 announced his plans to retire at the end of the season. The 36-year-old Japanese superstar faced 270th-ranked Shang Juncheng of China on John Harris Court Monday evening. Shang, who has missed much of this season due to injury, was playing in his first match since Dubai last February.

Competing in his first ATP Tour match of the season, Nishikori defeated Shang, 6-7 (3), 6-3, 6-4, in two hours and 31 minutes to advance to the second round against either No. 8 seed Arthur Fils of France or #NextGenAtP star Rafael Jodar of Spain, who play Tuesday afternoon. Nishikori outpointed Shang 107-99.

During his pre-tournament news conference Sunday afternoon, the 36-year-old Nishikori, now ranked No. 721, was asked what his goal was this week: “To play a good match. This is weird feeling because I know when is the last tournament and I know there is only few more matches I can play,” he said. “Of course, I want to do good, and I want to finish good. I want to play good tennis and finish it, and that’s going to be my goal.”

• Defending champion and No. 7 seed Leylah Fernandez of Canada won her sixth-straight match in Washington, D.C., after defeating No. 65 Magna Linette of Poland, 6-1, 6-4, in an hour and 19 minutes. Fernandez, raced to a double-break lead in the opening set and stayed focused throughout the first-round match. Next, she will face either No. 28 Alexandra Eala of the Philippines or 123rd-ranked Chinese wild card Zheng Qinwen, who play Tuesday.

• No. 6 seed Madison Keys of the United States was upset by No. 70 Liudmila Samsonova of Russia, 3-6, 6-4, 6-4, in two hours and 24 minutes on Stadium Court. The newly-married Samsonova withstood 10 aces from Keys and converted three of 12 break-point chances. She was outpointed 99-95. Next, Samsonova will face either 17-year-old American qualifier Julieta Pareja or Wang Xinyu of China, who play Tuesday.

• No. 71 Elisabetta Cocciaretto of Italy rallied from a set down to upset No. 30 Clara Tauson of Denmark, 4-6, 7-6 (2), 7-6 (2), in three hours and five minutes on Grandstand Court to advance. She saved four of five break points and converted three of 14 break-point chances. Cocciaretto, who outpointed Tauson, 124-119, will face No. 8 seed Emma Navarro of the United States, who pulled through an all-American battle against 56th-ranked wild card Sofia Kenin, 6-0, 7-5, in one hour and 39 minutes on Stadium Court. Navarro struck 18 aces and outpointed Kenin 86-66.

• Also advancing were: American wild card Ashlyn Krueger, ranked 67th, who defeated No. 69 Katie Boulter of Great Britain, 3-6, 6-2, 6-2, in one hour and 52 minutes on John Harris Court;  and No. 37 Janice Tjen of Indonesia, who eliminated 123rd-ranked qualifier Rebecca Sramkova of Slovakia, 6-4, 6-2, in one hour and 21 minutes on the Grandstand Court.

• In men’s doubles, No. 1 seeds Simone Bolelli and Andrea Vavassori of Italy advanced to the quarterfinal round with a 6-4, 6-4 win over Robert Cash of the United States and Alexander Erler of Austria in one hour and 22 minutes on Court 4.

Also, No. 2 seeds Christian Harrison of the United States and Neal Skupski of Great Britain held on to beat wild cards Ben Shelton of the United States and Diego Hidalgo of Ecuador, 6-2, 3-6, 10-7 in one hour and 14 minutes on the Grandstand Court.

Elsewhere, Hugo Nys of Monaco and 2016 DC Open champion Edouard Roger-Vasselin of France advanced to the quarterfinal round with a come-from-behind 3-6, 7-6 (3), 10-7 win over French duo Theo Arribage and Albano Olivetti in one hour and 49 minutes on Court 4. 

Finally, Austin Krajicek of the United States and Nikola Mektic of Croatia advanced to the last eight with a 6-4, 6-4 win over Rafael Jodar of Spain and Brandon Nakashima of the United States in one hour and 21 minutes on the Grandstand Court.

• In women’s doubles, wild cards Venus Williams of the United States and Diana Shnaider of Russia advanced to the quarterfinal round with a 6-3, 6-4 win over Ulrikke Eikeri of Norway and Quinn Gleason of the United States in one hour and 22 minutes on John Harris Court.

“I’m really grateful to have a great partner,” Williams said during her team’s post-match news conference. “I think our energy matched, and we’d love to just keep going.”

Shnaider added: “I feel like it was a very, very great match from both teams, very entertaining. A lot of good rallies. So definitely it was a pleasure to share the court and get the win with Venus.

“Yeah, super happy, and it was a lot of fun moments out there.”

Also advancing to the last eight were: No. 2 seeds Erin Routliffe of New Zealand and Aldila Sutjiadi of Indonesia; Andreja Klepac of Slovenia and Makoto Ninomiya of Japan; and Clervie Ngounoue and Alana Smith of the United States.

Monday’s DC Open men’s results

Monday’s DC Open women’s results

Tuesday’s DC Open order of play

By the numbers

Kei Nishikori of Japan captured the first of his 12 ATP Tour titles in 2008 at Delray Beach as an 18-year-old qualifier ranked 244th. He remains the youngest champion on tour since Lleyton Hewitt of Australia at age 16 in 1998 at Adelaide.

“Quotable …”

“It was so much fun. It definitely brought back a lot of memories. Seeing my name up there, as I said on court, amongst so many legends, great players, it really means a lot, and it motivates me to keep going, and hopefully, as I said, that I get to repeat. If not, then just to keep going with some good momentum and keep learning for myself and my game.”

– DC Open women’s defending champion Leylah Fernandez, during her post-match news conference, after winning her first-round match over Magna Linette on Monday afternoon.

 

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