By: Ben Raby (www.twitter.com/benrabytennis)
Teaming up for the first time in doubles competition, Stefanos Tsitsipas and Nick Kyrgios will face a stiff test in their opening match at the Citi Open. Such is the luck of the draw sometimes, and as luck would have it, Tsitsipas and Kyrgios will meet the No.1 ranked tandem of Juan Sebastian Cabal and Robert Farah in the first round.
While Tsitsipas and Kyrgios are partnering for the first time, Cabal and Farah have been playing together since they were juniors in Columbia. Cabal and Farah arrive in Washington having won 10 consecutive matches, including the Wimbledon final.
The entire men’s doubles draw was revealed Saturday afternoon during a ceremony in Market Square. The 16-team draw is loaded with one of the Citi Open’s strongest doubles fields in recent memory. All 10 of the ATP World Tour’s Top-10 doubles players will be competing.
Former world No.1 Andy Murray is also among the headliners in the doubles field as Murray returns to Washington for a rare chance to partner with his brother Jamie.
While the Murray brothers have partnered in the past, those occasions have primarily come during international competitions such as the Olympics or the Davis Cup. This marks the first time they’ll be playing with each other in any event since September 2016.
Jamie Murray is ranked No. 8 in doubles and is a six-time Grand Slam champion in doubles competition. He is also a Citi Open champion, having captured the 2018 doubles crown with then-partner Bruno Soares.
The Murrays, though, also face a tough first-round challenge as they’ll face Wimbledon finalists Nicolas Mahut and Edouard Roger-Vasselin.
The other brother tandem in the field – Bob and Mike Bryan – will be competing in Washington for the 15th time as a team. The Bryan brothers, who first competed in D.C. in 1997 and are seeking a fifth Citi Open title as a tandem, will face the wild card entry of Treat Huey and Denis Kudla (Arlington, Va.).
Other notable first-round matches include wild cards Jack Sock and Leander Paes facing the Australian duo of Alex de Minaur and John Peers, while 2014 Citi Open champs Jean-Julien Roger and Horia Tecau meet Mate Pavic and 2018 titlist Bruno Soares.
The entire Men’s Doubles Main Draw can be found here: https://www.atptour.com/en/scores/current/washington/418/draws?matchType=doubles