Frances Tiafoe was not the only local star inside the Stadium at the Mubadala Citi DC Open on Tuesday night. NBA superstar Kevin Durant was in attendance to watch the American’s 7-6(5), 7-6(5) victory over Aslan Karatsev.

After the match, the two shared a nice embrace on court. Durant joined Tiafoe and stadium emcee Rennae Stubbs for an interview on court. How is Durant’s tennis game?

“Mine is nonexistent,” Durant said, cracking a laugh. “But there was a lot of energy in the building tonight. It was exciting, I’m glad he got the win.”

“He’s just bringing that energy from this area… we’re all proud of him.”

NBA legend @KDTrey5 with some love for @FTiafoe at @mubadalacitidc 🤩 pic.twitter.com/bjtwZIvaVc

— Tennis TV (@TennisTV) August 2, 2023

Durant was sure to point out the impact Tiafoe is making on his local community. The American last year made the US Open semi-finals and this June cracked the Top 10 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings. The fans showed their appreciation for Tiafoe’s efforts all night long and helped push him to his win.

“He’s just bringing, first of all, that energy from this area,” Durant said. “He’s representing right, so we’re all proud of him.”

Tiafoe has long spoken about his roots as a kid in the area training at the Junior Tennis Champions Center in College Park, Maryland. On Tuesday he came full circle and was the centre of attention, celebrated by a global icon in Durant.

“Think about it. I was a kid who had an opportunity and dreamed massively big. Shouldn’t be doing any of these things, honestly. [I was] sneaking into this event, telling my parents I was going to be a pro at a super young age, against all odds, wearing hand-me-down clothes, holes in my shoes, cargo shorts,” Tiafoe said. “Now I’m playing this tournament. People are here to see me. I’m packing it out. Doubles was nuts yesterday. Packed it out today. Guys like KD and [Kentavious] Caldwell-Pope and Gaff [Daniel Gafford] want to come see me play.

“I have just worked really hard over the years. I think it’s come from a great place. I’m super humble about it. I’m humble they want to take the time out and come and watch me play. Yeah, it’s so impactful, and it’s one of those things you want to keep these moments going.”

Cheered on by NBA legend Kevin Durant, American Frances Tiafoe opened his Mubadala Citi DC Open campaign with a tight 7-6(5), 7-6(5) win against Aslan Karatsev on Tuesday.

The second seed Tiafoe, who has claimed titles in Houston and Stuttgart this year, thrilled the home crowd with his shotmaking ability throughout the two-hour, nine-minute contest and absorbed Karatsev’s firepower to advance at the ATP 500 event. 

Playing in his first match since Wimbledon, the 25-year-old Tiafoe fought off a set point on serve at 5-4 in the second set to avoid going the distance and later in the tie-break, he won four consecutive points after falling behind 3/5.

“Unbelievable match tonight. It was so tight all the way through, he really made me earn it,” Tiafoe said in his on-court interview. “I’m just happy to get through. He’s a tough player, he’s made the semis of a Grand Slam and he’s very, very dangerous. Very tough first round.” 

With Durant sitting courtside, Tiafoe earned his second Lexus ATPHead2Head win against Karatsev to set a first-time meeting against 18-year-old Chinese star Shang Juncheng in the second round. In his seventh appearance in Washington, World No. 10 Tiafoe’s best result at the hard-court tournament came last year, when he made the quarter-finals before falling to eventual champion Nick Kyrgios. 

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^{Kevin Durant attends Tuesday’s evening session at the Mubadala Citi DC Open. Credit: Ben Solomon}

Earlier in the day, Michael Mmoh saved three match points to upset fourth seed Hubert Hurkacz 6-3, 6-7(4), 7-6(4). Despite having a match point of his own on return at 6-5 in the second set, Mmoh was pushed to a decider before closing the exciting two-hour, 55-minute battle.

The American traded blows from the baseline with the World No. 17 and produced a highlight reel of winners to earn his third Top 20 win of the season. Hurkacz will rue letting slip three match points, one of which came after winning a gruelling 38-shot rally at deuce. All three of the Pole’s match points came on return at 5-4 in the third set, but Mmoh held his nerve and continued to play aggressive to escape.

Australian Jordan Thompson ousted wild card Kevin Anderson 6-4, 6-7(1), 6-1 after winning 56 per cent of points behind his second serve, compared to the South African’s 40 per cent. Anderson, 37, was playing just his second tournament since returning from retirement in July. Emil Ruusuvuori produced a clean-hitting performance to rally past last year’s finalist Yoshihito Nishioka 6-7(5), 6-4, 6-2 after two hours, seven minutes. 

Alexander Shevchenko upset eighth seed Sebastian Korda 5-7, 7-6(4), 6-4 to close the day. Shevchenko, 22, saved 19 of 24 of break-points faced to survive the World No. 26.

Let’s not call it a resurgence, but Dominic Thiem took another important step towards rebuilding his career at the Generali Open Tuesday.

Cheered on by a raucous home crowd, the 2020 US Open champion survived the first round for the third consecutive tour-level event and claimed his 10th match win of the year with a dramatic 7-6(3), 7-6(6) win in two hours and 22 minutes over Argentine Facundo Bagnis.

It may sound like a modest milestone for a Grand Slam champion, but the Austrian is taking nothing for granted in 2023 after losing nine of the first 10 matches he played this season.

The 2019 Kitzbuehel champion and 2014 finalist staved off five set points on serve in the 10th game of the opening set and another two set points in the second-set tie-break.

Thiem, who served 10 aces, trailed 2-4 before a lengthy rain delay interrupted the match. He immediately broke back when the match resumed and played an aggressive brand of tennis to push on to victory.

“It was another great, great night here in Kitzbuehel,” Thiem said on court after the match. “It’s the third time I kicked off the tournament with a night session and all three of them have been legendary. It was not easy with the rain delay but it was an amazing atmosphere with everyone staying. I’m so happy I am through to the second round.

“In the first set when we came back from the rain delay I played a very good level and he kept it up, so it was an even match. I played offensively and finished many points at the net. “

Thiem, who two weeks ago reached the second round in Gstaad, repeated his win over Bagnis in the first round of Umag last week.

Thiem lost nine of his first 10 matches in 2023, and came into this tournament No. 116 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings. He went 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 in New York in September 2020.

Eighth-seeded German Daniel Altmaier came up big when it mattered most to defeat Swiss Marc-Andrea Huesler 6-7(2), 6-2, 6-4 to reach the second round. The 2021 semi-finalist saved three of the four break points he faced and converted all four break chances on his opponent’s serve to claim his 11th match win of the year.

Altmaier, who hits with a one-handed backhand like his childhood idols Roger Federer and Stan Wawrinka, also defeated Huesler in the first round of Roland Garros this year.

Altmaier will next face Colombian World No. 76 Daniel Elahi Galan.

Brazilian Thiago Seyboth Wild picked up his first tour-level win since Roland Garros (where he stunned Daniil Medvedev in the first round en route to the third round) when he defeated Austrian Dennis Novak 6-3, 6-4

The World No. 117 will next face Serbian Laslo Djere, who last week reached the final of the ATP 500 in Hamburg.

Two weeks, two wins for Shang Juncheng against Ben Shelton.

In a battle of #NextGenATP stars, 18-year-old Shang defeated home favourite Shelton 6-2, 3-6, 6-3 on Tuesday to reach the third round of the Mubadala Citi DC Open.

“I’m definitely very happy right now,” Shang told ATPTour.com. “Ben is not an easy player to beat. I think I’ve got a game that kind of suits me to playing him.”

Last week, Shang eliminated Shelton 6-4, 6-4 at the Atlanta Open. One week later, he broke his opponent’s serve five times from nine chances to triumph in three sets after one hour and 42 minutes.

“I’ve got a great return I think and in the past two weeks, I’ve been returning really well. So I think that was the key today, to break a few service games from him,” Shang said. “Overall, I’m playing very confident and I’m just very patient on court and fighting for each point.”

It was the Chinese teen’s fourth win in as many days in Washington, where he won two qualifying rounds over the weekend before ousting Emilio Gomez in the first round on Monday.

The timing for Shang’s success is good, because next Monday he will drop 80 Pepperstone ATP Rankings points he earned by winning the Lexington ATP Challenger Tour event last year. He is at a career-high World No. 149. Shang will next play second seed Frances Tiafoe or Aslan Karatsev.

In other action, fifth seed Grigor Dimitrov earned his place in the third round with a 7-6(6), 6-2 victory over Mackenzie McDonald. The 2017 Nitto ATP Finals champion is competing in Washington for the eighth time and in 2013 advanced to the quarter-finals.

Australian Thanasi Kokkinakis also moved on with a 2-6, 6-4, 6-4 win against Japan’s Taro Daniel. Another Japanese player, lucky loser Sho Shimabukuro, claimed his first ATP Tour victory with a 6-4, 6-3 triumph over South African Lloyd Harris.

Kei Nishikori withdrew from the Mubadala Citi DC Open on Tuesday due to a left knee injury. The Japanese star was replaced in the draw by Sho Shimabukuro, who will face South African Lloyd Harris.

The 33-year-old returned from a 20-month absence in June, when he won an ATP Challenger Tour title in Puerto Rico. He won eight of his 10 Challenger-level matches before returning to ATP Tour action last week in Atlanta.

The former World No. 4 showed his good form at the Atlanta Open, an ATP 250 event, where he made the quarter-finals with straight-sets victories over Jordan Thompson and Shang Juncheng. 

Nishikori owns an 18-7 record in Washington, where he won the title in 2015 and has reached two additional semi-finals. His most recent appearance in Washington came in 2021.

Editor’s note: This story was translated from ATPTour.com/es

Starting to get used to hearing the name Alcaraz? Its place on Tour may be even more assured than anyone imagined.

While Carlos Alcaraz has been impressing fans the world over with his meteoric rise to becoming the youngest No. 1 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings history, his biggest fan has been watching on from home.

His brother Jaime, at just 12 years of age the youngest of the four Alcaraz Garfia siblings, won a Rafa Nadal Tour heat this week in the under-12 category in Madrid. In a 48-player draw at the Club Internacional de Tenis Monte del Pilar, the Murcia native enjoyed a successful campaign, turning plenty of heads along the way.

Jaime won the title seven years after Carlos triumphed on the same circuit. The current World No. 1 left an indelible mark on the competition, winning the Masters in both the under-12 (2015) and under-14 (2016) events, demonstrating his unstoppable talent even before his teenage years.

As the fourth seed, Jaime only dropped two sets in the five matches he required to claim the trophy. The brother of the recent Wimbledon champion claimed a 6-1, 1-6, 10/1 victory over Madrid native Beltrán Serrano, one of the best players in Spain in his age group.

The Rafa Nadal Tour is a charity tennis circuit that was conceived in 2014 by the former No. 1 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings to benefit the Rafa Nadal Foundation. Held annually, it includes under-12, under-14 and under-16 categories for both boys and girls. Its objective is to instil in young players the great values of sport, such as hard work, respect, determination and humility.

The 2023 Rafa Nadal Tour holds events in Barcelona (RCT Barcelona – 1899), Mairena del Aljarafe – Seville (Club Río Grande), Valldoreix-Barcelona (Club Esportiu Valldoreix), Valencia (Club Español de Tenis), Alicante (Club Atlético Montemar), Majadahonda-Madrid (Club Internacional de Tenis) and Gran Canaria (Cortijo Club de Campo).

The Masters event will be held from 2-5 November in Mallorca (Rafa Nadal Academy by Movistar), where the top seven in the circuit’s ranking will compete in under-12 and under-14 categories, along with the top four in the under-16 event. The four winners of the “Values trophy” will also take part (two under-12s and two under-14s).

The under-12, under-14 and under-16 Spanish championships, held by the RFET, also count towards the circuit’s ranking. Therefore, the players from each of these tournaments will pick up points according to the round they reach.

Will the fresh mountain air power Zhang Zhizhen to an impressive debut this week at the Generali Open?

The World No. 53 will step on court against Dusan Lajovic on Tuesday as the first Chinese player to compete in the 79-year history of the Kitzbühel event. The ATP 250 takes place against the stunning backdrop of the Austrian Alps, and Zhang took a break in his preparations to visit the famous nearby Hahnenkamm mountain.

“It’s my first time here in Kitzbühel. They have very good views,” said Zhang. “For winter they have ski racing here. It’s impressive to see the ski jumping from here, which for me would be impossible.”

^{_{Photo Credit: Generali Open | Alexander Scheuber}}

A highlight of the Hahnenkamm is the famous Streif downhill course, one of the most demanding on the professional skiing circuit. Zhang expressed a desire to return to Kitzbühel in winter to see the area under snow.

“In China we don’t really have too many places for skiing. We have some, but I live in Shanghai and it is not really snowing. I would like to see big snow [one day].”

Zhang arrived for his historic appearance in Kitzbühel fresh from reaching his maiden ATP Tour semi-final at the Hamburg European Open. Now on the brink of becoming the first Chinese man to break the Top 50 of the Pepperstone ATP Rankings, he is pleased to be leading a squad of emerging talents from his country that also includes Wu Yibing and Shang Juncheng.

“We are are playing more at ATP Tour level and improving our ranking,” said the 26-year-old. “So we try to play higher tournaments. I didn’t know I was the first one to come here [to Kitzbühel], but I am happy to be the first.”

John Isner held firm in the face of a late Rinky Hijikata comeback Monday to kick-start his 2023 campaign at the Mifel Tennis Open by Telcel Oppo with a 6-2, 7-6(4) victory in Los Cabos.

The big-serving Isner led Hijikata 6-2, 5-3 at the hard-court ATP 250 before the Australian ramped up the pressure by forcing a second-set tie-break in the pair’s maiden Lexus ATP Head2Head clash. Hijikata then forged an immediate 3/0 lead to boost his chances of forcing a deciding set on the Mexican Pacific coast, but Isner claimed seven of the final eight points to pull through in one hour and 54 minutes.

“It’s a lot of relief. I felt like the match could have been a little bit easier at the end, but my opponent started to play a bit better,” said Isner in his on-court interview. “He made me play and I got a little tight. That’s what happens in tennis. I’m happy to win.”

It was a 350th tour-level hard-court victory for Isner, who hit 31 winners, including 19 aces. Now 8-11 for the 2023 season, the 16-time tour-level titlist will next face top seed Stefanos Tsitsipas at an event where he reached the semi-finals in 2021.

“We have played each other a bunch,” said Isner, when asked about the Tsitsipas clash. “I think I won the first couple of times and he’s won the last five, so I’m going to try to turn that around.

“He’s an incredible player, obviously. You don’t get to No. 3 in the world without being really good, so it’s going to be a big challenge. I will definitely have to play my best, because if I don’t I have no chance of winning.”

Isner’s countryman Aleksandar Kovacevic also sealed a straight-sets win Monday. The World No. 129 beat qualifier Omni Kumar 6-2, 7-5 to set a meeting with second seed Cameron Norrie. Third seed Tommy Paul’s opening opponent will be Felipe Meligeni Alves, after the Brazilian moved past Alejandro Tabilo 6-2, 6-4.

Former World No. 6 Gael Monfils collected just his second tour-level win of the season and first since Roland Garros when he defeated American Bjorn Fratangelo 6-3, 6-4 in the first round of the Mubadala Citi DC Open Monday night in Washington, D.C.

Taking up residence deep behind the baseline, the 36-year-old Frenchman used his speed and athleticism to build a defensive wall that the 30-year-old Pittsburgh native was unable to penetrate on his 2023 main-draw tour-level debut. En route to his 527th match win, Monfils also delighted fans with two signature slam-dunk smashes.

Monfils, who at No. 323 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings needed a wild card into the main draw, withdrew from the second round of his home Grand Slam with a left wrist injury and played his first match since Roland Garros last week in Atlanta.

“It’s great to be back in Washington. I love the support here. I started strong and it’s another good match under my belt,” said Monfils, who received a post-match congratulatory kiss from wife, WTA Tour star Elina Svitolina, who also picked up a win Monday.

“It’s a good night for both of us and hopefully we can keep it going this week.”

Monfils, who next meets fellow showman, Kazakhstan’s Alexander Bublik, has reached at least one ATP final for 18 straight seasons (2005-22) and has 11 titles to his name.

Former finalist Mackenzie McDonald picked up his first win in three career meetings with Diego Schwartzman when he defeated the World No. 95 6-3, 6-3. McDonald saved the lone break point he faced while converting three of nine opportunities on the 30-year-old’s serve.

The World No. 60 Californian defeated former champions Nick Kyrgios and Kei Nishikori en route to the 2021 title match, where he lost to Jannik Sinner.

Michael Mmoh turned his 2023 win-loss record into positive territory (8-7) with a 6-3, 6-3 defeat of fellow American, qualifier Bradley Klahn, who was chasing his first tour-level win since the 2019 US Open.

China’s fast-rising 18-year-old lefty Shang Juncheng won his opening-round match for the second consecutive week (Atlanta) with a 6-3, 6-3 win over Ecuador’s Emilio Gomez. Shang was solid from the baseline, winning 60 per cent of points on his second serve.