- The Washington Times - Thursday, August 1, 2024

The stars were out in full force on Thursday at the D.C. Open, with a manic day of action and intense heat forcing multiple retirements as the men’s and women’s quarterfinals began to take shape.

No. 2 seed Ben Shelton, the top American playing at Rock Creek Park this week, showed no ill effects in getting back on the court barely 14 hours after his last match, needing two tiebreaks but winning in straight sets, 7-6 (5), 7-6 (4), over Brandon Nakashima to reach the quarterfinals.

A blistering, nearly 100-degree day couldn’t keep Shelton from advancing, even after he played until 1:45 a.m. Thursday due to a nearly three-hour rain delay Wednesday that pushed his start time late into the night.

Shelton will next face Canadian Denis Shapovalov, who showed the form that once made him a top 10 player in the world in upsetting No. 12 seed Miomir Kecmanovic, 4-6, 6-4, 6-2. Putting his wild-card entry to good use, it’s Shapovalov’s first quarterfinal appearance in the District — the tournament where he made his ATP debut eight years ago.

Before Shelton, former world No. 1 and Washington fan favorite Victoria Azarenka was headed for a quick, straight-set win after taking the first set 6-1 off China’s Yafan Wang. 

But she and Wang both started to drag in the second as the temperature intensified, and Wang took advantage.

“I was playing back and forth, some points aggressive, some a bit too hesitant,” Azarenka said, “and she jumped and took the opportunity off of that.”

Wang took the second set in a tiebreak before a 10-minute heat rule break took effect just before the start of the third set. Azarenka took advantage of the extra time to refocus.

“Third set, I was like, ‘You know what, if you miss, you miss,’” Azarenka said. “So just try to go through, just try to find your game.”

She did, locking down and getting the win 6-1, 7-6 (5), 6-3. The sixth-seeded Azarenka, who celebrated her 35th birthday Wednesday — “I’m 18 for the 17th time,” she joked — will face fellow Belarusian and top seed Aryna Sabalenka in the quarterfinals Friday, her seventh quarterfinal appearance of the year.

The two are the only seeded players in the WTA draw after No. 4 seed Ons Jabeur retired due to a shoulder injury before what was to be her first match Thursday night against District native Robin Montgomery, who advanced to the quarterfinals via walkover.

The scorching sun sent fans across the grounds seeking shade and hydration, and forced retirements in both draws.

Thanasi Kokkinakis had two match-point opportunities on his serve in the second set against No.4 seed Sebastian Korda. 

“He was playing some great tennis,” Korda said. “When I was down 5-2, I saw him, he was kind of slowing down a little bit with the pace of his serve and his movement a little bit.”

Kokkinakis double-faulted to give that and eventually the set away, and would retire down 3-2 in the final set due to cramping.

“After I won the second set, he took a medical timeout, he wasn’t feeling too good. That’s when you kind of just try to stay calm,” Korda said. “Because it’s also not easy to play someone who is struggling. They just kind of go for their shots. Sometimes they land in, then it can be a little bit tricky for you.”

No. 3 seed Liudmila Samsonova had similar issues with the heat, retiring after losing the first set 6-2 to Paula Badosa due to upper respiratory issues in what was her first singles match of the tournament.

“Well, I feel sorry for Liudmila, that she had to retire. I don’t like winning matches like this, so hope she recovers because she’s a great player,” Badosa said. “I was expecting a tough match there.”

The champion here in 2022, it was only Samsonova’s second loss in her 10 Washington matches. Badosa will seek her first semifinal appearance of 2024 against fellow wild card Emma Raducanu in the next round.

“I practiced with her a few times [this week],” Badosa said. “Especially here, I think these conditions, these balls - and she proved it also a few years ago with US Open - it suits her very well. She’s a very fast player. She has a very fast eye also. She changes directions really well.”

In other ATP results Thursday, No. 10 seed Flavio Cobolli overcame five match points and losing the first set to beat eight-seed Alejandro Davidovich Fokina, 1-6, 7-6 (0), 7-6 (8), in the longest match of the tournament and the first to eclipse the three-hour mark.

The Italian will meet No 15 seed Alex Michelsen, who won in straight sets 3-and-3 over South Korea’s Seongchan Hong. And Korda will face another Australian, seven-seed Jordan Thompson, a 7-5, 6-4 victor over No. 9 Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard of France.

• George Gerbo can be reached at ggerbo@washingtontimes.com.

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