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Snap Judgments: 2019 Citi Open Semifinals & Women’s Doubles Final (08.03.19)

Yusuf Abdullah/ALOST

 

akoiki-passport2 – by Adesina O. Koiki
A Lot of Sports Talk editor-in-chief

 

WASHINGTON — There is something about getting a wild card that brings out the best in American super phenom Coco Gauff in 2019. There is just something about Coco Gauff in general, as she punctuated her first tournament after becoming a household name in The States with a trophy.

The 15-year-old Gauff, who reached the Round of 16 in singles at Wimbledon, teamed with 17-year-old Catherine McNally to win the women’s doubles title, part of a thrilling penultimate day at the 2019 Citi Open at Rock Creek Park in Washington, D.C. It is Gauff’s first title won on the WTA Tour — the first of many, at least according to a few tennis prognosticators who are predicting greatness after her historic run in England.

Similar to how her run in Wimbledon started, receiving a last-minute wild card into the women’s singles qualifying, Gauff and McNally were handed a wild card into the main doubles draw for this week. Though the pair is used to playing doubles together, evidenced by winning the U.S. Open junior doubles title last year, the teens sure made good on the tournament’s largesse.

“I thought this week was super good,” Gauff said during the pair’s post-match press conference. “Like we didn’t even know we were playing together. Before the tournament we were lucky enough to get a wild card, and I’m glad that we were able to get that and we were able to take advantage of this opportunity.”

Gauff and McNally needed only 65 minutes to dispatch of the No. 4 seed in the event, Fanny Stollar of Hungary and Maria Sanchez of the United States, 6-2, 6-2.

Soon after the women’s doubles champions were crowned, more thrills awaited in the evening, specifically a thrilling men’s semifinals match between two eye-catching phenoms, Nick Kyrgios of of Australia and the top seed, Stefanos Tsitsipas of Greece. In the end, it was Kyrgios saving a match point before winning 6-4, 3-6, 7-6 (7).

Kyrgios, has a hard-court victory in Acapulco on his ledger this year, will take on Daniil Medvedev in the final tomorrow afternoon.

*Editor’s note: Above the byline is the photo gallery from Saturday’s action, with all photos taken by DC-area photographer Yusuf Abdullah. After clicking on the first photo to enlarge the picture, make sure to press the left and right arrow buttons to scroll through the rest of the pictures. There are 27 pictures in total.

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