WASHINGTON – Seven of the top 10 men’s doubles teams in the world have committed to play in the Citi Open, held July 27 to August 4 at the William H.G. Fitzgerald Tennis Center in Rock Creek Park.

 

Record-breaking Americans Bob Bryan and Mike Bryan, the No. 1 team in the world, lead the impressive 16-team draw. The 35-year-old twins return to Washington after becoming the first men’s doubles team in the Open Era to hold all four Grand Slam titles – most recently conquering Wimbledon earlier this month – as well as the gold medal in the 2012 London Olympics.

 

The main draw also includes the world No. 2 pair of Austrian Alexander Peya and Brazilian Bruno Soares, who have won six ATP titles together, as well as the No. 5-ranked doubles player Rohan Bopanna of India and his partner Andre Begemann of Germany. The list also includes one of the greatest doubles players of all time and 2000 Olympic gold medalist, Daniel Nestor of Canada, with his partner Robert Lindstedt of Sweden, who won the Washington tournament in 2008 (with Marc Gicquel) and 2009 (with Martin Damm).

 

The tournament’s current Top 10 seeds also include the No. 6 team of Max Mirnyi and Horia Tecau, No. 7 Ivan Dodig and Marcelo Melo, No. 8 team Julien Benneteau and Nenad Zimonjic, No. 9 team Santiago Gonzalez and Scott Lipsky, and No. 10 team Mariusz Fyrstenberg and Marcin Matkowski. 

 

Michael Llodra, the 2011 Washington doubles champ, will also return to the tournament along with partner Grigor Dimitrov.

 

"Our doubles acceptance list reads like that of one of the Grand Slams," said Jeff Newman, tournament director. "The competition is going to be incredible."

 

The Citi Open is one of only 11 elite ATP World Tour 500-level events worldwide and the only one held in the United States. The event is also part of the Emirates Airline US Open Series, the five-week summer tennis season that links nine North American hard-court tournaments to the final Grand Slam of the year, the US Open. In addition, the Citi Open features a WTA International Tournament that provides fans the opportunity to watch simultaneous competitions of both world-class men’s and women’s tennis throughout the nine-day event. The tournament features 48 men’s singles players and 16 doubles teams, 32 women’s singles players and 16 doubles teams.

 

The tournament’s owner and beneficiary, the Washington Tennis & Education Foundation (WTEF), provides underserved children in the D.C. area with a safe environment to learn critical life skills both on and off the courts through academic and athletic enrichment.  

 

For more information, visit the Citi Open on the web at www.citiopentennis.com. The Citi Open is on Facebook at www.facebook.com/CitiOpen and on Twitter at @CitiOpen. To receive news and updates about the tournament, join the growing Citi Open Text Club by texting DC to 25973.