This is one of my favorite times of the year. And it’s not because of the summer weather or the warm weather clothing or the outside cooking. In just a few weeks, the U.S. Open will be in full swing, which means no matter what time it may be, there’s a good chance tennis is on television.
There are several tournaments leading up to the U.S. Open {which are part of the U.S. Open Series} and one of the tournaments brought both men and women to Washington, D.C. this past week. The Citi Open, played in Rock Creek Park in the District, is something I have always wanted to see. I grew up going to the Western & Southern Open in Cincinnati, so I was anxious to see what the Citi Open had to offer.
Dress: J.Cew {last seen here} | Jacket: J.Crew (on sale!) | Wedges: Steven Madden, no longer available {similar here} | Bracelets: here, here, here | Watch: Kate Spade | Sunglasses: Ann Taylor | Nails: Essie – Watermelon
We got tickets to go to the Tuesday session {I wanted to make sure we went on a day when we had the best opportunity to see the most players, of course}. The weather was so perfect for tennis – by the end of the evening, people were wearing scarves and sweaters, which is extremely unusual for summer in D.C.
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| American Jack Sock |
The first match we watched was the young American, Jack Sock, and Michael Berrer of Germany. The match was on an outer court that allowed for open seating, which meant we could get really close. We only ended up staying for the first set {so we could catch some other matches} but it was a great first set. Although, watching Jack Sock play made me feel really old when we realized he was born in the 1990s!
We then headed over to the “clock your serve” booth. While I haven’t played competitive tennis in four years, I still wanted to give it a try {while wearing four-inch heels!}. What I learned: I have lost some speed on my serve, but from the pictures my husband took, I don’t think I lost too much of my form! And the best news…I didn’t throw my shoulder out!!
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| American Sloane Stephens |
When Tuesday’s schedule was released, one of the highlights for us was the match between Christina McHale and Sloane Stephens, two young Americans. The stadium {which was also on an outer court with open seating} was absolutely packed! You could tell people were really getting excited to see a competitive match between two girls who could be the future of American women’s tennis. Unfortunately, the first set was pretty slow with unforced errors and double faults. We only stayed for the first set because we had to catch a shuttle back to a parking garage that was closing within the hour. And apparently we missed a lot – McHale ended up wining the match in three sets. {As much as we would have liked to stay and watch all three sets, we really didn’t want to get stuck without our car in D.C.}
Overall, it was such a great evening at the Citi Open. I wish we could have gone back to see more matches later in the week, but with the temperatures heating up, I know it wouldn’t have been quite as enjoyable as the cool 50s we experienced on Tuesday!
Catch the men’s finals today {Sunday, August 3rd} on ESPN2 at 3pm featuring two Canadians, Milos Raonic and Vasek Pospisil!
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