WASHINGTON, DC NEWS & NOTES
*It must seem like a decade ago for Lammons-Withrow came to DC a year ago and won the titles as the four seeds. They were firm 1.65 (-153) favorites when they topped Matos-Melo 7-5, 6-3 in the final. The win marked the third straight season that the favorites in the championship match took home the glory. It was also the third time in four runs of the Citi Open that the finale finished in straight sets.
*The 2024 version of the Citi Open was nearly perfect in matches going down in straight sets. Thirteen of the 14 completed matches finished in two sets. That appears to be a one-off rather than a trend with 17 super tie break finishes over the previous two seasons (28 matches). From 2021-2023, there were a dozen super tie break finishes in round one play. The quarterfinals are another great spot to hunt out those STBs with at least three of the four quarterfinals each year from 2017-2023 going the distance. Remember, there was no tournament in 2020, so that is five of six runs in that stretch that saw the high number of STBs in the quarters.
*Underdogs had a steady win rate in 2024 with five hitting out of those 14 completed matches. The largest score came at 2.78 (+178) in round one when (3)Murray-Venus fell early. Three of the five dogs hit in round one play. DC has been a fairly regular producer of underdog wins since 2019. In the five years in that span, at least five underdog wins have been tallied each year.
*With that nice underdog production, one would expect that seeds do have some struggles early on at the Citi Open. Last year, DC was one of those dumb stops where they decided to seed eight of the 16 pairs for some reason. For statistical purposes in this preview, I’m counting seeded losses early as the top four seeds only. Last year, there was just a single one and done pair in the opening round. That was down from the past three runs (2021-2023) when there were multiple seeds losing their openers. That included the top seeded pair losing each year in round one in that same stretch.
*To pile on to the troubles that the top seeds have seen in DC in recent times, there have been six straight runs of the Citi Open where the #1 seeds have failed to make the final. The last time the top seeded pair made the final was back in 2017 when Kontinen-Peers made the final. Keep that in mind for later when we look at the Italians, Bolelli-Vavassori, who are this year’s #1 seeds.
*Lammons-Withrow are back in the mix this year seeking the repeat. DC hasn’t seen that happen since 2006-2007 when the Bryans won back-to-back. Given Lammons-Withrow’s drain circling 2025, it seems almost a certainty that fact will remain after 2025. This year’s field will include some singles pairs that could be intriguing. Topping the list is the combo of Kyrgios-Monfils. Kyrgios did withdraw from singles, but apparently will stay in the doubles draw. He’s a former champion here back in 2022 with Jack Sock. If he plays, it would be his first doubles match since the Australian Open when he retired mid-match in round one. Another “fun” watch that may yield more in entertainment than results is Shelton-Tiafoe. They have a short amount of experience having played twice in Laver Cup over the past few years. With DC being Tiafoe’s “home town” tournament though, there could be some increased motivation to win a match or two. There are also a number of what look like “one-off” pairings for that week that I will touch on more below.
THE UNSEEDED MENACES
With seeds seeing some early exits traditionally here, it could open up the draw for some unseeded pairs to do damage. Here is a look at the ones that stick out as potential contenders.
Mektic-Ram/Skupski-Smith
An interesting pairing on both sides in this one. Ram has been a nomad for most of 2025, flipping partners on the surface switches. Mektic will be his 6th partner after he played with Harrison for the 2nd time this year in Los Cabos last week. Mektic has split from Michael Venus after a mediocre 18-16 record this year. No word if this pairing with Ram is more than just a one-off for the week. Skupski looks like he’s just on a one-off with JP Smith, while Salisbury doesn’t appear in any other tournaments. Their quarter is wide open, so the team that advances will definitely have that menace feel to it.
Goransson-Verbeek
They’ve really struggled for consistent wins after the bright start to the season when they were a surprise semifinalist at the Australian Open. Still, they rarely get blown out and a lot of their losses have been to the upper echelon pairs and quite a few super tie break or third set losses (8) out of their 15 losses on the season. They get Bhambri-Venus first in that pair’s first match back together since 2024. An early win puts them in contention in that same quarter with Mektic-Ram and Skupski-Smith.
Shelton-Tiafoe
Just a gut feeling on this one as the two don’t have a ton to review other than a pair of Laver Cup matches. I think their chances of doing anything really hinge on how they treat this draw. Is it just extra practice for their singles matches? Just entertainment in a home setting for Tiafoe? Realistically, they have a shot to score a win early against the stumbling Aussies, Ebden-Peers. After that? It’s anybody’s guess, but they could be a surprise if they get that opening win. I don’t know that they’d be on a path for a final or anything, but do remember that Shelton made the doubles final here back in 2023. Anything is possible in the early stages of the North American hard court swing.
ONE AND DONE WATCH
Washington’s history suggests there will be some upsets of seeds early on and in looking at the match-ups, it looks like all four seeds are going to need to bring their A games early.
(1)Bolelli-Vavassori
The Italians have been better since they broke out of a multiple month slump by winning the titles in Hamburg on clay in late May. Since then, they’ve compiled a 11-4 record. There have still been some disappointing results in that mix, including a tough opening loss in Mallorca on grass. It was the Italians’ 6th opening match loss in 2025. They get Doumbia-Reboul to open in DC. This their 1st time playing this early in the North American swing and just their second time through this section of the season as a pair. Doumbia-Reboul got back on hard courts in Los Cabos with a loss, but the Frenchies have stepped up against the top tier teams in 2025 and been competitive most times. This first time meeting could be tight.
(2)Harrison-King
Although the move back to hard courts should greatly benefit the Americans, it’s a tough opener against Gonzalez-Molteni. They are 3-0 against them, but the last meeting got even tighter in a 7-6, 7-6 win for the Americans on grass in Halle. After that though, they dropped their openers in two straight and come in on a three match losing skid. Gonzalez-Molteni played well on grass in spite of a 3-3 record and don’t forget that they won this tournament back in 2023. They’re tough to predict from week to week, but they certainly are capable of pulling off an upset in this spot for me.
(3)Nys/Roger-Vasselin
They’ve played very well the last few months, but they are getting an absolute enigma in round one. That’s where they will see the combo of Nick Kyrgios and Gael Monfils. Nick’s health is still a major question after he pulled out of singles competition in DC, but choosing to remain in doubles should indicate that he’s looking to get reps this Summer. Monfils has struggled mightily to find doubles success (30-90), but you never know when first timers like this might just have a spark. The energy they bring along with the crowd surely being into this pairing could help breed an upset if the seeded French pair stumble at all to transition back to hard courts.
(4)Bhambri-Venus
I am excited to see this pair reunited and for Bhambri to get a regular partner for at least a few tournaments in a row seemingly. He’s been a steady performer in 2025 alongside a variety of partners, so the switch to a set partner in Venus is interesting. These two are 12-7 all-time as a pair, but have not played together since Miami last Spring. Most of their work came at Challengers a decade ago, but both are certainly very capable vets. If they get got, it could be early as they rediscover their chemistry. That’s where Goransson-Verbeek come into play in round one.
DRAW PREVIEW
TOP HALF
The first quarter starts with top seeds Bolelli-Vavassori battling Doumbia-Reboul. The Italians will seek to overcome the top seed jinx that I talked up early on in this preview. Bolelli-Vavassori are 11-5 on hard courts this season, but eight of those wins came in Australia. I think this is a good test to start against a competent French pair. Their routine loss in Los Cabos last week would make you think that the Italians have a good shot to survive and advance to the quarterfinals. The match oppposite of that one will pit a qualifier against defending champs Lammons-Withrow. None of the qualifying pairs in the quali draw inspire a ton of confidence for a run in this quarter, but with how poorly Lammons-Withrow have been in 2025, there’s room for an upset. I’ll check the results of the qualifying final tomorrow, but this might be a spot for the defending DC champs to get an increasingly rare win. For me, as long as Bolelli-Vavassori get out of the chute with a win against Doumbia-Reboul, there’s little reason to believe they won’t be in the final four with this set up.
The second quarter should be absolute chaos. You’ve got a seed, (4)Bhambri-Venus who are reuniting after not playing a whole lot together in the last decade. I love the talent of both of them, but will they find that chemistry again right away? They face Goransson-Verbeek in round one. The Australian Open surprise semifinalists have struggled to find wins consistently, but they still show up as tough customers to beat in this situation. Then you have the a pair playing together for the first time ever this week in Mektic-Ram and one in Skupski-Smith that haven’t paired since 2018. I tend to think one of those teams is going to click and be a real menace in this half of the draw. I tend to side with Skupski-Smith as the better shot. It’s really a toss up as to which team emerges out of this quarter in my opinion. I really like the potential for Bhambri-Venus, but is it too soon to expect success?
If Bolelli-Vavassori had not fallen off so hard after Australia on this surface and continued to stumble into part of the clay court season, I think it’d be easy to anoint them the favorites to roll through this half. The Italians have stumbled enough though and have that top seed curse working against them in this one, so for me it’s really a wide open shot for just about any team in this half. Even Lammons-Withrow you say? Okay, maybe not EVERYONE, although I think it would be less of a surprise this week if they made a run than it would have been most other weeks during this season-long slump.
My Favorite: Bhambri-Venus
My Sleeper: Skupski-Smith
BOTTOM HALF
The third quarter will have plenty of eyes on it early with the Kyrgios-Monfils tandem in the draw, at least for now. They open against (3)Nys/Roger-Vasselin. The French pair have done their best work at Grand Slams this year with a pair of quarterfinals in Australia and Wimbledon and a semifinal in Paris. The Frenchies are 8-5 on outdoor hard courts, but five of those wins came in the Australian swing. If Kyrgios-Monfils serve well, this is going to be a tight match and their showmanship is going to have the crowd doing backflips over every point regardless of whether it’s a big one or not. That unto itself can lend to upset potential if the seeded French get rattled. Opposite of that one is Shelton-Tiafoe against Ebden-Peers. If the media and tournament are real about getting jacked about doubles, you know they will be rooting for a Kyrgios-Monfils versus Shelton-Tiafoe quarterfinal in this section. Can it happen? Absolutely, but there are plenty of ifs, ands and buts before we see that on the schedule. I tend to think one of them is going to fail or withdraw and erase that potential blockbuster from existence.
The final quarter sees Harrison-King return to hard courts where they are 13-3 so far in 2025. They have proven themselves capable against the cream of the crop, but have not been to a final since Acapulco back in March. Their starter against Gonzalez-Molteni looks like a banger to kick things off. The Americans have swept the first three meetings on three different surfaces; outdoor hard, clay and grass. Of the six sets played between the two, three have gone to tie breaks. I think that could mean we see another tight encounter and Gonzalez-Molteni do have happy memories from their lone trip to DC two years ago (champions). As I look in this bottom half, this may end up being the toughest match for the seeded Americans if they make a deep run.
The other match in this quarter sees wild card Aussies de Minaur-Popyrin squaring off against another singles pair in Cibolli-Davidovich Fokina. The Aussies did pair three times on clay last year in preparation for the Olympics. While they lost all three, they did win sets in two of the three. They’re competitive and I think the hard court setting will make them a bigger potential terror. Cibolli-ADF are pairing for the first time with Cibolli having played the most doubles this year, but going just 2-9. This will be Davidovich Fokina’s third doubles match of the season. I’ll take the Aussies. The question with most of the singles pairs in the draw will be whether or not they stick around if their singles runs go deeper in that draw. I do think de Minaur-Popyrin can be a stiff test for the Harrison-King/Gonzalez-Molteni survivor.
This half does have two strong seeds, but also a bigger assortment of unseeded assassins. I believe Harrison-King make it to the semifinals if they get out of that first round clash. Nys/ERV have a pair of really tough match-ups, so I’ll be a bit surprised honestly if they make it through. If it did go seed versus seed in the semis, Harrison-King own a win over the French pair from Acapulco in their lone battle of the season. I’d say keep an eye on Gonzalez-Molteni and that Shelton-Tiafoe combo as ones who could go scorched earth in this half.
My Favorite: Harrison-King
My Sleeper: Shelton-Tiafoe
CLOSING TIME
As the North American hard court swing gets going this week, it’s an interesting draw to start things off. You’ve got some regular pairs looking to establish themselves on the surface again, but there are also a bunch of one-offs/new combos that look very capable of doing damage in this draw. History here indicates that you should expect a surprise finalist or maybe even finalist(s)! I do think if there’s a top seed to break loose from that terrible historical record in DC, Bolelli-Vavassori are ones who can do it. Their draw has some question marks, but they themselves are one of those question marks for me.
Of the seeds, I think I like Harrison-King the most. They do have some tough spots to navigate, but there’s also some comfort level in taking on a talented team first-up that you’ve beaten three straight times. Bhambri-Venus are the other seeds that intrigue me, but again I think it might be the case where they are better off later in the Summer after some time back together and perhaps more so being in the unseeded field. As for rank outsiders to surprise their way to a final? Skupski-Smith, Shelton-Tiafoe and Gonzalez-Molteni are tempting. This looks like a real nice “hard” start to this North American swing with more regular pairs returning. It should be a fun one with some surprises along the way.
PIG PIX
Harrison-King
Skupski-Smith
DOUBLES TOURNAMENT PREVIEWS & PICKS 