Top seed Taylor Fritz claimed his 17th win from 20 matches on American soil this season when he defeated practice partner Zachary Svajda 6-3, 6-3 in the feature night match at the Mubadala Citi DC Open in Washington, D.C. Wednesday.

Fritz, who twice rallied from 0/40 down in the second set, will next face former World No. 1 Andy Murray.

Trying to work his way into contention to qualify for the season-ending Nitto ATP Finals, Fritz has the opportunity to move inside the cut in eighth position in the Pepperstone ATP Live Race To Turin with a title this week.

“Zach and I have trained together consistently for the past couple of years; I try to give him advice. He’s not someone you want to see on the other side of the court. I know what level he is capable of,” Fritz said.

Coming off his second title of the season last week in Atlanta, Fritz stitched up the first set against 20-year-old Svajda with love breaks in the third and eighth games. The 25-year-old dug himself out of a 0/40 hold in the fifth game of the second set and claimed the decisive break three games later.

Three factors underpinned Fritz’s victory: He won 29 of 34 points on his first serve, he clubbed 32 winners to Savjda’s nine and he saved all eight break points faced.

“I played all those points well,” Fritz said of the break points he faced in the second set. “A mix of good serving and some good shots I hit. It was one of those nights when I was playing a bit loser.

“It’s going to be a tough match against Andy, who is such an amazing competitor. The conditions are really, really slow so that will help him in the match a little bit.”

French wild card Gael Monfils used his dazzling court speed to thwart the variety in Alexander Bublik’s bag of tricks to claim a 6-3, 6-4 win.

“I knew I needed to be really fast and sharp on every ball,” Monfils said. “He can hit a lot of drop shots so I knew I had to be free with my feet. I am fast He might be able to hit two or three [I can’t get] but I know I will get most of them.”

The 36-year-old will next meet Dutchman Tallon Griekspoor.

Former pro Tony Mmoh sat in the stands at Court John Harris Tuesday as he watched his son, Michael Mmoh, nearly three hours into his second-round clash against Hubert Hurkacz at the Mubadala Citi DC Open. After letting slip an opportunity to close out the match in straight sets, the younger Mmoh was deep in a final-set tie-break, leading 4/3. He danced around a backhand, desperate to hit a forehand under the utmost pressure. 

Not only did Mmoh do so successfully — ending up at the side wall in the process — he eventually won the point to secure the critical mini break that he did not relinquish, advancing to the third round.

“He even just ran into the wall to hit a ball. That was just awesome to see. I was so impressed. I mean, it was just mind-boggling,” the elder Mmoh told ATPTour.com. “He literally ran into the wall to return a ball. Determination, that’s guts. I was just taken aback. I was like, ‘Whoa, that is the new Michael.’”

It has been a breakthrough season for Mmoh, who has been opportunistic to claim some of the biggest wins of his career. It started in Melbourne at the Australian Open, where the American lost in the final round of qualifying. He booked a flight home and was watching an NFL playoff game between the Dallas Cowboys and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in his room when he was called to site to potentially claim a place in the main draw.

Mmoh did that and rallied from two sets down to reach the second round, in which he stunned two-time Nitto ATP Finals champion Alexander Zverev.

“He was lucky in Australia to get into the main draw, and just being lucky, he decided to take advantage of that, too. He was just there having fun,” Mmoh said. “That’s what I want to see him do more, just have fun. I think when you relax a little bit more, you can start playing great tennis. And that’s what is happening now. Even in addition to hard work as well.”

All seemed to be going well when Mmoh maintained his momentum to make the Delray Beach quarter-finals. But after suffering a leg injury during a match against Tommy Paul in Acapulco, the American did not compete again until Roland Garros.

“There’s no way he could have avoided that. But when you come out of injury, you tend to put a lot of pressure on yourself, because you really want to perform again and sometimes it’s hard,” Mmoh said. “But I think right now, we’re now getting him to have the right feelings, to know that he is supported by everyone, and we’re there for him the whole time.”

At Wimbledon, Mmoh again fell in the final round of qualifying and received a lucky loser spot. He upset Felix Auger-Aliassime in the first round, a victory his father credits to his work leading into the tournament.

“Whatever it takes to get ready, he does that. For example, before Wimbledon he did not take a day off for about 10 days. We were down in Florida, really horrible conditions, just working,  training,” Mmoh said. “He lost in the qualies, but he was playing well, then he got lucky again, got into the main draw and really played well. But [it was] a result of that preparation as well. 

“After Wimbledon he said, ‘Dad, let’s meet again in Florida, let’s start work again.’ He’s fully committed, in terms of getting himself ready in order to play the kind of tennis he wants to play.”

The wins against high-profile players continue piling up. Despite missing three months, Mmoh is on the verge of returning to the Top 100 in the Pepperstone ATP Live Rankings.  

“We had a conversation last night about believing that he’s got the ability, the capability, that God-given talent. He is gifted. Whatever any other player can do, he has to believe he can do that too, or better,” Mmoh said. “Nothing’s going to be a given. He must go out there and fight for it and work for it. And that’s what he did [against Hurkacz]. He fought, he really fought for it.”

Tony explained that Michael’s forehand is becoming more of a weapon. The American is also improving his net game and expanding his already strong backhand. But to him, it is more about his son’s mentality.

“Deep inside, he’s so hungry. He doesn’t want to lose, he wants to win, and badly. He wants to perform for himself first and then us afterwards, the audience as well. He wants to perform for the spectators,” Mmoh said. “Watching him, I know what’s inside. I know the desire is there, I know he’s really hungry.”

Andy Murray found his way through a compelling contest Wednesday against American Brandon Nakashima to reach the third round of the Mubadala Citi DC Open.

The three-time major champion Murray earned a 7-6(5), 6-4 victory against Nakashima, who won the 2022 Next Gen ATP Finals. Murray found consistency from the baseline and mixed in variety, producing deft drop shots and often working his way forward to advance after two hours, 11 minutes. Despite trailing 2/5 in the opening-set tie-break, Murray tallied five consecutive points to gain an advantage. 

“I thought I did well, I hit the ball very well from the beginning of the match,” Murray said in his on-court interview. “I was struggling a little bit on the return. Brandon serves well, especially his second serve. I was struggling to create many opportunities on return. But I was just a little bit more solid than him at the end of the tie-break, he made a few mistakes, I put enough balls back in play.

“Then I got the break immediately at the beginning of the second set and served it out pretty well from there. It was tight at the end. The courts and the balls are extremely slow here, so you’re having to work really hard in all of the games, it’s not easy to finish points. It was a good one to get through.”

A finalist at the ATP 500 event in 2006, the Scot won 82 per cent of his first-serve points and saved all six break points faced to set a clash against top seed Taylor Fritz or qualifier Zachary Svajda.

In other Washington action, Christopher Eubanks wasted no time to book his ticket to the third round. The 27-year-old continued his standout season in winning fashion, defeating Japanese qualifier Sho Shimabukuro 6-3, 6-4. Eubanks struck the ball freely, firing 28 winners to seal victory in one hour, 11 minutes.

The American Eubanks, who is at a career-high World No. 29 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings, has won 12 of his past 14 matches, a run that started with his triumph at the Mallorca Championships before reaching the last eight at Wimbledon.

Eubanks will next meet Jordan Thompson after the Australian downed seventh seed Adrian Mannarino 7-5, 6-4 to earn his 100th tour-level match win. 

Yosuke Watanuki upset World No. 12 Felix Auger-Aliassime 7-6(10), 7-6(3) for the highest-ranked win of his career.

The Japanese star Watanuki, who cracked the Top 100 of the Pepperstone ATP Rankings for the first time Monday when he climbed to World No. 99, took the ball early and unleashed his firepower to oust the Canadian. The 25-year-old will next face Frenchman Ugo Humbert, who ousted Thanasi Kokkinakis 7-6(6), 1-6, 6-4.

Ninth seed Daniel Evans also advanced after surviving Gregoire Barrere 2-6, 6-0, 6-3. 16th seed J.J. Wolf cruised past Radu Albot 6-1, 6-3.

The sixth ATP Masters 1000 event of the season will see the ATP Tour’s best compete at the National Bank Open Presented by Rogers.

Here’s what you need to know ahead of the tournament in Toronto:

When is the National Bank Open Presented by Rogers?

The 2023 National Bank Open Presented by Rogers will be held from 7-13 August. The hard-court ATP Masters 1000 tournament, established in 1881, will take place at Sobeys Stadium in Toronto, Canada. The tournament director is Karl Hale.

Who is playing at the 2023 National Bank Open Presented by Rogers?

The Toronto field will feature World No. 1 Carlos Alcaraz, Daniil Medvedev, Casper Ruud, Stefanos Tsitsipas, Holger Rune and more.

When is the draw for the National Bank Open Presented by Rogers?

The Toronto draw will be made Friday 4 August at 4:30 p.m.

What is the schedule for the National Bank Open Presented by Rogers?

*Qualifying: Saturday, 5 August – Sunday, 6 August starting at 11 a.m.
*Main Draw: Monday, 7 August – Thursday, 10 August starting at 11 a.m. and 7 p.m.
Friday, 11 August at 12 p.m. and 7 p.m. Saturday, 12 August at 12:30 p.m. and 6 p.m.
*Doubles Final: Sunday, 13 August at 1:30 p.m.
*Singles Final: Sunday, 13 August not before 4 p.m.

*View on official website

What is the prize money and points for the National Bank Open Presented by Rogers?

The prize money for the National Bank Open Presented by Rogers is $6,600,000.

SINGLES
Winner: $1,019,335 / 1,000 points
Finalist: $556,630 / 600 points
Semi-finalist: $304,375 / 360 points
Quarter-finalist: $166,020 / 180 points
Round of 16: $88,805 / 90 points
Round of 32: $47,620 / 45 points
Round of 56: $26,380 / 10 points

DOUBLES ($ per team)
Winner: $312,740 / 1,000 points
Finalist: $169,880 / 600 points
Semi-finalist: $93,310 / 360 points
Quarter-finalist: $51,470 / 180 points
Round of 16: $28,310 / 90 points
Round of 32: $15,450 / 0 points

How can I watch National Bank Open Presented by Rogers?

Watch Live On TennisTV
TV Schedule

How can I follow the National Bank Open Presented by Rogers?

Hashtag: #NBO23
Facebook: National Bank Open
Twitter: @NBOtoronto
Instagram: @nbotoronto

Who won the last edition of the National Bank Open Presented by Rogers in 2022?

Pablo Carreno Busta won the 2022 National Bank Open Presented by Rogers title with a 3-6, 6-3, 6-3 victory against Hubert Hurkacz in the championship match.(Read & Watch). Wesley Koolhof and Neal Skupski lifted the doubles trophy, defeating Daniel Evans and John Peers 6-2, 4-6, 10-6 in the final.(Read More).

Who holds the National Bank Open Presented by Rogers record for most titles, oldest champion, youngest champion and more?

Most Titles, Singles: Ivan Lendl (6)
Most Titles, Doubles: Bob Bryan and Mike Bryan (5)
Oldest Champion: Rafael Nadal, 33, in 2019
Youngest Champion: Michael Chang, 18, in 1990
Highest-Ranked Champion: No. 1 Bjorn Bjorg in 1979, John McEnroe in 1984-85, Ivan Lendl in 1987-89, Andre Agassi in 1995, Roger Federer in 2004 & 2006, Novak Djokovic in 2011 & 2016, Rafael Nadal in 2018
Lowest-Ranked Champion: No. 95 Mikael Pernfors in 1993
Last Home Champion: None
Most Match Wins: Ivan Lendl (57)

View Who Is Playing, Past Champions, Seeds, Points & Prize Money Breakdown

Last November, Brandon Nakashima hit his greatest height. The American captured the Next Gen ATP Finals title, previously won by Hyeon Chung, Stefanos Tsitsipas, Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz. Each of those players quickly vaulted to the top of the sport, either by reaching a major semi-final or cracking the Top 10 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings.

Nakashima has taken the slower approach to his climb since emerging victorious in Milan. Entering his second-round match of the Mubadala Citi DC Open against former World No. 1 Andy Murray, the American is 9-13 on the season. Whereas some players would be antsy to continue their ascent, Nakashima is patient.

“I always thought to myself that you’re always going to have some good results, you’re going to have some bad results,” Nakashima said. “But at the end of the day, it’s important to keep developing your game and staying healthy out there. And if I keep doing that and keep enjoying it, I’m sure my time will come and I’ll have those opportunities.”

It has not simply been a case of disappointing results this year for the 21-year-old Californian. At the end of the preseason, Nakashima began to feel pain in his left knee. Despite not being 100 per cent, he competed in Australia to begin the season in the hopes of playing some matches.

The pain lingered through the early months of the year, so Nakashima and his team decided to take off time after Miami to physically recover and get his body right.

“Honestly, this year, I’ve learned that you can’t take things for granted out here. You can’t take your body for granted, your health. At the end of the year, I unfortunately had to miss a few tournaments, and I never really had that before,” Nakashima said. “So it really gave me perspective to be thankful that you’re healthy at the end of the day and you’re able to play these tournaments, no matter the result.

“Obviously, you want to do well at all the tournaments. But I just try to take each day at a time. You’re not always going to have good moments, there’s definitely going to be some tough moments as well.”

When Nakashima was out, he was not twiddling his thumbs. The American worked hard to rehab his knee and even did so in Italy, near Monte-Carlo, for part of the process.

“The days were still long. We were spending a lot of time in the gym, a lot of time with the physios and the doctors to try to make sure that I got better as soon as possible,” Nakashima said. “So there wasn’t much downtime, honestly, the days were still very long. But I tried to enjoy it as much as possible and look for the positives in everything.”

Nakashima returned a few weeks before Roland Garros and has consistently been in action since. Signs of good form came in Lyon, where he reached his first semi-final of the season. Last week in Atlanta, he battled hard against red-hot countryman Christopher Eubanks and on Tuesday, Nakashima defeated Atlanta finalist Aleksandar Vukic in Washington.

The American is not comparing his path to that of any other players. Just because Alcaraz won the Next Gen ATP Finals crown in 2021 and finished ATP Year-End No. 1 presented by Pepperstone the following year does not mean failing to do so is a reflection on Nakashima.

“At the end of the day, each person, each player, has their own path. It doesn’t matter if you win the same tournament, or at the same age or whatever. All these players, their goal is to get to the top. Each player has their own journey,” Nakashima said. “Maybe it takes them a shorter amount of time to reach their goals, or maybe other players, it takes them a little while longer.

“You have to go through these tough moments or these experiences to get you to where you want to be. I’m just trying to focus on myself out here. I know that my game is improving each day. My time will come. It’s just a matter of sticking to it and sticking to the process.”

Nakashima believes that his game is developing well and that there is simply a lot of great competition on the ATP Tour. He pointed to Eubanks’ recent run of results as an example of many players being capable of breaking through at any moment. With that in mind, he is confident that by continuing to work hard, the results will come.

Most of all, Nakashima is taking in the whole experience. The ability to travel the world to play tennis in front of thousands of fans is not lost on him.

“I’m trying to enjoy it as much as possible. Of course, there are difficult times out there,” Nakashima said. “But it’s just trying to take it one day at a time and trying to enjoy every moment, because at the end of the day, not many people get to have these experiences, travelling around the world and playing these tournaments. So even when times get tough, I try to say to myself, I should be very thankful and privileged to be living this life.”

Home favourite and 2019 champion Dominic Thiem reached his third quarter-final on clay this year after rallying from a first-set beatdown against Zhang Zhizhen at the Generali Open in Kitzbuehel Wednesday.

Thiem took time to adjust to starkly different conditions to the night match he played on Tuesday before pulling away to a 1-6, 6-3, 6-2 win. The 29-year-old Austrian crushed a trademark down-the-line fadeaway backhand from deep behind the baseline to break in the opening game of the third set and never relinquished his lead.

“The first set was so tough, with completely different conditions to last night. I felt it was 15 degrees warmer and the ball was bouncing completely different. I didn’t know what was going on and it felt that he was playing so fast,” said Thiem, who did not offer up a break point in the final two sets.

“I just tried to put the first set out of my head and start the match from zero. I had a pretty good start to the second set and that was the turnaround today.

“He was playing very fast, very flat, and if I wasn’t aggressive enough he would put me away, like he did in the first set. So I tried to play more offensively and make him have more mistakes. I did a good job of that in sets two and three.”

Thiem lost nine of his first 10 matches in 2023, and came into this tournament No. 116 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings. He was 6-5 during the clay swing through Roland Garros but went winless during the grass swing, which included a valiant fifth-set tie-break loss to Stefanos Tsitsipas in the first round of Wimbledon.

Suffering a tear in his right wrist that forced him to miss nine months from June 2021-March 2022, Thiem is looking for his first title since claiming his lone major at the US Open in September 2020.

The former World No. 3 next faces a first-time meeting with Frenchman Arthur Rinderknech, who took out second seed Yannick Hanfmann of Germany 7-6(3), 6-3.

Alex Molcan staged one of the greatest comebacks of the season to defeat Sebastian Ofner 4-6, 7-5, 7-6(5). The Slovakian saved two match points trailing 0-5 in the second set as he began a winning streak of nine straight games to lead 2-0 in the third set.

On the cusp of victory, Ofner suddenly began to struggle to put his serve into play while Molcan knuckled down and played rock-sold tennis. The left-hander will next play Argentine Sebastian Baez, who enjoyed a crushing 6-1, 6-2 win over sixth-seed Spaniard Roberto Carballes Baena. The 22-year-old Baez has dropped just nine games through the first two rounds.

After a breakout 2022 season, Felix Auger-Aliassime will be the first to admit this year has not been perfect. But the Canadian, who is the third seed this week at the Mubadala Citi DC Open, is using what some might view as a difficult campaign as a learning experience to grow.

Despite struggling with knee pain in recent months, the No. 12 player in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings has remained positive.

“You’ve never heard of an athlete that never had injuries, especially tennis players who play a lot. It’s a tough sport physically, so there’s for sure going to be injuries at some point in a career,” Auger-Aliassime said. “And looking back, I feel like I was fortunate enough that the last three or four years I never had a serious injury. And even now, this one this year wasn’t so serious, but just one that I was dealing with some pain for quite a long time, a few months. And I always try to take the positive out of it.”

Auger-Aliassime has not won consecutive matches since reaching the Indian Wells quarter-finals in March. His past two tournaments were at Roland Garros and Wimbledon, where he lost in the opening round as he struggled with his knee.

But the Canadian explained that dealing with the situation has allowed him to learn and help restructure to avoid future injuries.

“[It allowed me to] be really focussed on doing the right things and putting even more prevention in my work and becoming even more precise and professional and with how I do things,” the Netflix Break Point star said. “I would have loved to keep on playing and winning all the time. But I guess it was a good time to take a step back, restructure things to come back from it.”

It is a mature mindset for a player who is only 22, turning 23 on 8 August. Auger-Aliassime has gained plenty of experience since debuting on the ATP Challenger Tour aged 14.

“For me, things came quicker, or certain results or certain accomplishments came quicker than I even hoped or that I planned. So you take it. You take it when it comes,” Auger-Aliassime said. “And I guess, looking back, it was good for me that I went through certain experiences at a young age, becoming a professional at 18, and travelling the world and learning about my job, learning about how it is to deal with having a team of professionals around you, and how to manage my career in a better way. I was on the Player Council a couple years ago.

“So I feel like all these experiences, and I’m still [just turning] 23, I think it’s a great thing. It’s a great thing. And I think it’s going to be a big help over my career.”

Speaking about the lessons he has learned, Auger-Aliassime said: “I think it’s more in general just focussing on the things that I control. And I learned that I think at 17, 18. You want results, and you have certain expectations, but you quickly realise that you just don’t get what you want, just by really wanting it or working for it.

“You have to really trust that by doing the right things on a daily basis that eventually you will get to where you want to be. And [you need] to really be convinced, deep inside of you that you will get there and trust in training and trust the professionals around you.”

Last year Auger-Aliassime won the first four ATP Tour titles of his career, reached a career-high World No. 6 and qualified for the Nitto ATP Finals. It would have been nice to maintain his momentum, but Auger-Aliassime is not overreacting to a 13-11 start to 2023.

“[It is important] to stay very calm and composed,” Auger-Aliassime said. “To be proactive when things aren’t working well, but to never panic. And I think that was a big key for me to, to my consistency.”

The Canadian will try to get back on track this week in Washington, where he is happy to be competing for the third time.

“There’s a lot of diversity in the city. First of all, I go to restaurants and I see many different faces, which is always great to see. And I think that’s one thing that I love also when I come to the site, I’m practising and I’m playing matches,” Auger-Aliassime said. “I have people from various ages and young kids, families or older people, adults from many different backgrounds that also come from very different places. So it’s nice to see that kind of diversity.

“I think Washington does have that and then I love the layout of the city in a way, how green it is. You walk around, there’s parks. It’s very green. There’s not skyscrapers and tall buildings, so you don’t feel suffocated in a way. So yeah, I think those are things that I like about the city and I mean, it’s a tournament that’s been going on for many years. So people are used to having tennis, used to having a tournament here, so they come out in big numbers and it’s always great to see.”