It has been two years since Citi Open was last played, so it was understandable when the announcer was excited as night tennis opened in D.C. on Tuesday night.
The crowd wasnt packed yet, but the atmosphere was electric with defending mens champion Nick Kyrgios back on the court against Mackenzie McDonald in the first round. Some fans that might be waiting for Kyrgios to go off probably had been disappointed with the Aussie keeping himself in check.
The match went on in favor of McDonald, who dominated Kyrgios from start to finish. The American broke service twice but was never broken. He played cleaner and faster, too, taking more balls within the baseline. He saved all of his breakpoints, the five of them, with a service and a drop-shot.
McDonald took a professional and a straightforward win. While the American player experienced many successes on every surface, this was his most relaxing time on hard court. On the other hand, Kyrgios was done by two bad service games, first in the opening set at 4-4 and the second set at 2-2.
The defending champion started the match with a taped knee. It was also apparent that he was rusty after being away for five months. He tried hard in this match, and when it was over, he left the court with a loss that strung.
McDonald faced one of Citi Opens most challenging opponents smoothly and will face Benoit Paire next.