The German athlete, known for his powerful and precise one-handed backhands, joins a list of must-watch players, including French Open semifinalist Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, world No. 1 doubles team Mike Bryan and Bob Bryan, John Isner, Sam Querrey, Sloane Stephens, Kevin Anderson, Lleyton Hewitt, Bernard Tomic and Gael Monfils, among many others.

 

Haas returns to the D.C. tournament for the eighth time. He reached a career-high ranking of No. 2 in the world in 2002, has won 14 career singles titles, is a four-time Grand Slam semifinalist and took home the silver medal at the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney.

 

At age 35, Haas is having one of the best years of his career and is currently ranked No. 13 in the ATP World Rankings. Earlier in 2013, he defeated world No. 1 Novak Djokovic to reach the semifinals at the ATP World Tour Masters 1000 in Miami. Soon after, he claimed the ATP title in Munich, Germany, and recently reached the quarterfinals at Roland Garros, where earlier in the tournament he played one of the most memorable matches in French Open history, saving one match point against fellow Citi Open participant John Isner to win an epic five-set thriller, 7-5, 7-6 (4), 4-6, 6-7 (10), 10-8. 

 

The Citi Open will be held July 27 to August 4 at the William H.G. Fitzgerald Tennis Center in Rock Creek Park, Washington, D.C. It 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 prestigious 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, which 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, and offers nearly $2 million in player compensation.

 

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

 

Ticket pricing and package details are now available at www.citiopentennis.com or by phone at 202-721-9500. Daily and single-session tickets are available through Ticketmaster.

 

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 Twitter @CitiOpen. To receive news and updates about the tournament, join the growing Citi Open Text Club by texting DC to 25973. The 2013 Citi Open is a Lagardère Unlimited production.