ATP Washington: Citi Open preview

The Citi Open kicks off Monday at Rock Creek Park in Washington DC. Despite being an Olympic year, the stars have come out to put on a show for the fans in this ATP 500 event. Headline international names include Grigor Dimitrov, Alexandr Dolgopolov, and Bernard Tomic. Headlining Americans include John Isner, Jack Sock, Steve Johnson, and ATP NextGen Star Taylor Fritz. We take a look at the draw where top-seeded John Isner is the favorite to win the title.

Isner’s Quarter

With a 48 player draw, the 16-seeded players in the event get byes into the second round. Isner’s projected second round match will be against fellow American Tim Smyczek. A potential third round match against Marcos Baghdatis, a rematch of the opening of Wimbledon, could ensue if the draw holds to form.

Viktor Troicki and Steve Johnson await as potential quarterfinal opponents with the American potentially facing off against hometown boy Francis Tiafoe should he get past Adrian Mannarino. Troicki should find himself into the third round with Stephane Robert or a qualifier waiting for him in the wings.

Quarterfinals: John Isner - Steve Johnson

Semifinalist: John Isner

Tomic’s Quarter

Jack Sock of The United States celebrates during the Men's Singles third round match against Milos Raonic of Canada on day six of the Wimbledon Lawn Tennis Championships at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club on July 2, 2016 in London, England. (Photo by Julian Finney/Getty Images)

The second quarter of the draw features Aussie Bernard Tomic who stirred up some controversy here last year when he looked like he was tanking and just fooling around during the match, asking Steve Johnson to challenge calls and jokingly challenging calls that were already out. The Aussie chose not to play in the Olympics, though it would have been interesting to see what the Australian Olympic Committee would have done considering they chose not to let Nick Kyrgios play.

The draw isn’t too kind for Tomic with a potential tricky second-rounder with Donald Young awaiting should he defeat one of the qualifiers. Young has had flashes of brilliance when he’s playing which has provided Americans plenty of hope.

A match of big servers could ensue if Sam Groth gets past Brian Baker. Groth could meet Ivo Karlovic in a match that in all likelihood could go to three tiebreaks and could see the ace record in a three-set match broken considering both men aren’t the best of returners.

The bottom part of this quarter provides some interest with two budding stars going in opposite directions in Grigor Dimitrov and Jack Sock. The Bulgarian has fallen flat on his face to deal with the expectations, and his temper has not helped the cause while Sock has moved up in the rankings but has stagnated a bit around the 20-30 ranking range.

Benjamin Becker or Daniel Evans await in the wings for Dimitrov while Lukas Lacko or Denis Shapovalov await for Sock.

Quarterfinals: Jack Sock - Ivo Karlovic

Semifinalist: Jack Sock

Paire’s Quarter

Alexander Zverev of Germany plays a forehand during the Men's Singles third round match against Tomas Berdych of The Czech republic on Middle Sunday of the Wimbledon Lawn Tennis Championships at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club on July 3, 2016 in London, England. (Photo by Adam Pretty/Getty Images)

The fiery, enigmatic Frenchman is the top-seeded player in this quarter but is definitely not the favorite considering the talent pool of players in his section. The section starts off with seventh-seeded Alexander Zverev, the big-hitting German, who could face off against another NextGen Star in Taylor Fritz. That is one match to definitely watch out for if it happens. Young Reilly Opelka or Malek Jaziri face off against Kevin Anderson in what could be another match of big servers if Opelka comes through against the Tunisian.

14th-seeded Gilles Muller, another man known for his serve, should get through his potential second round foes, though Ivan Dodig might be trickier than most expect. Benoit Paire will face off against the winner of a match amongst qualifiers but don’t expect to see the Frenchman get upset in that one.

Quarterfinals: Alexander Zverev - Gilles Muller

Semifinalist: Alexander Zverev

Monfils’ Quarter

Gael Monfils of France plays a backhand shot during the Men's Singles first round match against Jeremy Chardy of France on day one of the Wimbledon Lawn Tennis Championships at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club on June 27th, 2016 in London, England. (Photo by Julian Finney/Getty Images)

The quarters of the bottom half are filled with talented yet quirky Frenchman and this is no different as this quarter is led by none other than Mr. Trickery himself, Gael Monfils. Sam Querrey, fresh off his Wimbledon quarterfinals appearance, plays his first match against either a qualifier or Bjorn Fratangelo. Alexandr Dolgopolov is his expected round of 16 match if he gets past Jordan Thompson or Victor Estrella Burgos.

Youngster Borna Coric is just one of the few players who will be making the quick turnaround from Davis Cup to the Citi Open may run into some trouble into the second round. Vasek Pospisil, whose ranking has dipped big time due to the inability to defend his Wimbledon points, has fallen to just inside the top 100 and should get past Yuichi Sugita to set up a showdown with Coric. Monfils will face the winner of Rendy Lu and Austin Krajicek.

Quarterfinals: Sam Querrey - Gael Monfils

Semifinalist: Gael Monfils