The Citi Open’s top seed doubles team, the Bryan Brothers, have withdrawn from the 2013 Citi Open due to Bob Bryan’s shoulder injury.
“We certainly wish the Bryan brothers were able to participate, but first and foremost we wish Bob a speedy recovery,” said Jeff Newman, tournament director. “Our doubles draw still consists of six of the top 10 doubles teams in world and the competition will still be tremendous for our fans.”
The main draw includes the world No. 2 pair of Austrian Alexander Peya and Brazilian Bruno Soares, who have won six ATP titles together, as well as the No. 5 ranked doubles player Rohan Bopanna of India and his partner Andre Begemann of Germany. The list also includes one of the greatest doubles players of all time and 2000 Olympic gold medalist, Daniel Nestor of Canada, with his partner Robert Lindstedt of Sweden, who won the Washington tournament in 2008 (with Marc Gicquel) and 2009 (with Martin Damm).
The tournament’s current top 10 seeds also include No. 6 team Max Mirnyi and Horia Tecau, world No. 7 team Ivan Dodig and Marcelo Melo, world No. 8 team Julien Benneteau and Nenad Zimonjic, world No. 9 team Santiago Gonzalez and Scott Lipsky, and world No. 10 team Mariusz Fyrstenberg and Marcin Matkowski. Michael Llodra, a 2011 Washington doubles champ, will also return to the tournament along with partner Grigor Dimitrov. Treat Huey and Dominic Inglot, 2012 Citi Open doubles champs, and current No. 22 team, will also compete in the main draw.
The Citi Open is one of only 11 elite ATP World Tour 500-level events worldwide and the only one held in the United States. The event is also part of the prestigious Emirates Airline US Open Series, the five-week summer tennis season that links nine North American hard-court tournaments to the final Grand Slam of the year, the US Open. In addition, the Citi Open features a WTA International Tournament which provides fans the opportunity to watch simultaneous competitions of both world-class men’s and women’s tennis throughout the nine-day event. The tournament features 48 men’s singles players and 16 doubles teams, 32 women’s singles players and 16 doubles teams.
The tournament’s owner and beneficiary, the Washington Tennis & Education Foundation (WTEF), provides underserved children in the D.C. area with a safe environment to learn critical life skills both on and off the courts through academic and athletic enrichment.