I figured it was time to give you a tour of the grounds. It was the last day of qualifying yesterday, a day that means so much to the players who make it into the main draw. This is a life changing moment for a player trying to climb the rankings or take their first steps onto the pro tennis tour like Cruz Hewitt is doing here.
Cruz, if you didn’t know, is the son of Lleyton Hewitt. And the pressure and expectation of that must be great. He made his big breakthrough recently by making it to the final of the Junior Wimbledon boys event. He lost that to American Jordan Lee, and because of that breakthrough both he and Lee received wildcards into the qualifying draw here. Lee lost in the first round of qualifying, but Cruz, through a series of unfortunate events, got through to the main draw after both his opponents retired due to injury/illness.
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I was able to watch parts of his second match against Zachary Svajda. Svajda won the first set easily, but Hewitt put up a fight in the second, breaking Svajda while he was serving for the match and winning the tiebreak. And even though Svajda was compromised (Zach did make it to the main draw as a lucky loser), Hewitt showed his tenacity and grit in those closing moments of the second set, and it will be interesting to see how he develops on the main tour. He had Jordan Thompson in his box. I was surprised when I saw him on the grounds as he hasn’t played in a while, and it looks like he is taking on a coaching/supporting role for the youngster.
There is also a new podcast out today, so this is a combined GPOS and Order of Play.
On the Docket
I had the most impromptu podcast recording with Ava Wallace of The Athletic right in the heart of the DC Open. I wasn’t even sure I would post this, but listening back, it’s the type of free flowing tennis chat I would have with a friend, so why not let you in. Forgive the rambling, but we touch on what makes DC so special as a tournament on the tour and how it reflects not just the city of DC but the real fan base of tennis. And of course we get into Andy Murray as a tennis coach. Still wild to see.
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Bonus Point
It was another week where I didn’t watch any tennis, but I saw Lili Tagger won her first title in Prague, beating red hot Barbora Krejcikova along the way. She is now the youngest player in the top 50. I got to talk to her at Indian Wells this year. You can find clips from her interview here.
Off Court
Off Season: In Season - Dallas
Off Season: In Season - Dallas is live. Would love for you to check it out and share. We are back in production in Dallas. I caught up with Hailey Baptiste, Ethan Quinn and doubles team Chris Harrison and Neal Skupski. The next episode of the documentary, Delray, will be out in a couple of weeks. But there is a lot in the bank to catch up on here.
On Deck
Here in DC for the next few days, then will probably be back for the final weekend. There are a lot of players here hoping for a good start to the summer hard court swing. Ben Shelton would like to break the spell of first round losses. Can Frances Tiafoe finally win his home tournament? How good can this Andy Murray and Jack Draper partnership be? Can Naomi Osaka get further in DC than she did a year ago, and what’s next for Venus Williams? So many storylines to keep up with, and that is not taking into consideration the surprises we could get.
The Toss
The DC Open is unique because it’s a combined 500 event. It’s what I think makes it so successful.
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