World No. 10 Frances Tiafoe brought out the stars to Rock Creek Park as he began what he hopes is a run to a hometown title at the Mubadala Citi DC Open, beating Aslan Karatsev in two nearly-identical sets, 7-6(5), 7-6(5).
The Hyattsville native had the backing of Phoenix Suns star Kevin Durant along with new Washington Commanders owner Josh Harris sitting courtside, and NBA talents Kentavious Caldwell-Pope of Denver and Daniel Gafford of the hometown Wizards nearby as he advanced to the second round, where he’ll face Juncheng Shang of China.
“I seen KD, and I’m, like, ’Bro, I’m going to play Tuesday, Wednesday. I don’t know how long you’re staying, but it would be dope if you can come.’ He’s, like, 100% we’re going to make it happen,” Tiafoe said of having his fellow Prince George’s County native on hand.
“I was super pumped … It was a great atmosphere. Everyone in D.C. is super excited. I got, like, 55 tickets, something crazy. friends and family,” Tiafoe said. “I have never filled that stadium before in my opening match, so I guess it’s a testament to how I have been doing lately.
The course of the match essentially could be gleaned from the identical scoreline on an autumnal-feeling August night in the District. It went without a break of serve for all of the 2:09 it took, with Karatsev unflappable on almost all of his service games, and Tiafoe consistent in his movement and shot selection.
“Luckily I served well in some big moments and served well at the end of the match,” Tiafoe said. “He’s, at his best, one of the best players in the world and he played very well today.”
Karatsev had three break points in the first set, two in the first game thanks to a handful of Tiafoe unforced errors, and one at 1-all, but Tiafoe was able to hold both times.
Tiafoe didn’t get nearly as close to breaking Karatsev. The Russian won 18 of his 21 first-serve points, and Tiafoe could only muster nine total points across Karatsev’s six service games in the 59-minute set — with two of those given to him by double faults.
The first-set tiebreak, though, became the equalizer. And its turning point — and the match’s as well — came midway through.
Up 4-3, the mint-green clad Tiafoe used some of Karatsev’s volleying game against him, charging the net and cracking two big overhead smashes to put the point away. He would get to 6-3 when Karatsev couldn’t handle his serve, and would need all three set points he earned, unleashing an ace on the final one to win the set. The 141 mile-per-hour exclamation point was the fastest serve to date this tournament.
“Seems like things make sense in tiebreaks for me,” Tiafoe said. “I don’t know. I just try to be very instinctual. Whatever makes sense, add it to your points. Yeah, it was definitely my plan and it worked out at that point, so, happy it worked out.”
The second set nearly prefectly followed the script of the first. Tiafoe had his second and best break opportunity of the match at 2-all after Karatsev double faulted on the first deuce point of the game. Tiafoe would miss a return on the ninth shot of the rally, however, and Karatsev would win the next two points to hold.
A tiebreak was once again needed, with the two exchanging the first seven points. Tiafoe double-faulted to give Karatsev a momentary lead, but it was fleeting. Down 5-3, Tiafoe won four-straight points to win the match, finishing the final one with a corner-to-corner diagonal forehand deep near the line on Karatsev’s court.
• George Gerbo can be reached at ggerbo@washingtontimes.com.
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