Stefanos Tsitsipas, Nick Kyrgios Reach Washington Semis; Caty McNally Makes Final Four in Singles and Final in Doubles with Coco Gauff
(August 2, 2019) Top seed Stefanos Tsitsipas will face off against doubles partner Nick Kyrgios in the Citi Open semifinals on Saturday. Tsitsipas took down Frenchman Benoit Paire 7-5, 6-0. The man from Greece won eight straight games from 5-5 in the first set to close out the match.
The match, however, was not without drama. Paire complained when Tsitsipas had to change his sneakers in the middle of a game when he broke a shoelace.
“I’ve been struggling with it. One of few players that has been struggling with it,” said Tsitsipas of his shoe changes in the past few matches.
“My laces are breaking on the last hole. It happens when I’m sliding on the forehand side.”
“I’m not doing it on purpose. It always happens in crucial moments like this when I’m really trying hard, giving everything out on the court, trying to get every single ball back. It’s very irritating for me to keep playing with a shoe that’s not tight. It can fall off at any moment during the rally.”
Shoegate’2019 (?@TennisTV) pic.twitter.com/mg20RScazA
— doublefault28 (@doublefault28) August 3, 2019
What’s your stance on the unusual situation? pic.twitter.com/Bg1mAikUCm
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Tsitsipas will now play his doubles partner from earlier in the week, Nick Kyrgios for a place in the final. Kyrgios beat lucky loser Norbert Gombos 6-3, 6-3.
As for playing Kyrgios next, the new No. 5 in the world said: “he’s unpredictable. You never know what to expect from him.
“His serve I think is the biggest weapon in his game. He can just save a lot of opportunities, create a lot of opportunities with his serve. I mean, yeah in the rally he sometimes goes for crazy shots. As I said, unpredictable. He just seems very relaxed when he plays.
“I’m going to have to be careful of his shot selection, trying to execute and not play his game, play my game.”
Kyrgios on playing Tsitsipas: “I’m excited to go out there and just serve big and play big. He’s one of the best players in the world right now. It’s another opportunity for me to go out there and work on a couple things, have a lot of fun.
“I’m just super happy with the week so far. Obviously he’s a good kid. He’s going to have an amazing career. He’s already done some amazing things. Obviously the Federer match at the Australian Open was awesome. I was sitting in my room watching that. It’s good to see.”
What began the tournament with the focus on 15-year-old Coco Gauff in the qualifiying, now has shifted to her doubles partner Catherine“Caty” McNally. The 17-year-old teen from Cincinnati, who paired with Gauff for a US Open Junior Girls’ title last year, has reached the semifinals of the singles and the final of the doubles.
McNally who came into the tournament as a wild card, stunned fourth seed Hsieh Su-wei of Chinese Taipei 6-3, 6-4 in singles, and along with American countrywoman Gauff , won 6-1, 6-2 over No. 3 seeds Anna Kalinskaya of Russia and Miyu Kato of Japan.
“We’re super excited to be in the final,” said McNally. T”his is only our second event together. I think it just shows that we play really well together and that our games mesh together really well.
“For me, it’s just a huge week because I got my first main draw win in singles and doubles. Now I’m in the semis of singles and finals of doubles.”
Asked how they meshed together as a team, the said:
“Obviously Coco has a big game, a huge serve, big groundstrokes from the baseline,” Noted McNally. “I think that helps me at the net so I’m able to poach. That’s where I like to be.
“Yeah, we get along really well, not even just our games but off the court. I think that helps, too, because we bring a lot of energy. If one person is down, we pump the other person up. I think that helps a lot.”
“ I really enjoy playing with Caty,” Gauff said. “I feel like she really knows how to play doubles. Like, I’ve learned a lot from her on the court.
“I remember the first tournament we played was US Open juniors. I learned so much in doubles in that one week than I had in my whole life. So thanks, Caty.”
McNally will play Camila Giorgi of Italy in the final four.
“I’m really excited, “said McNally. “She’s a really good player. She’s done very well, had a long career.
“I’m just excited to play my game, mix in the slice, see how she handles everything that I can give to her heavy ball. I’m just looking forward to the matchup.”
McNally will see her singles ranking soar from 150 up into the 130s.
