All-American action at DC Open: Taylor Fritz and Ben Shelton easy cruise while Opelka bid falls short against Medvedev

The ATP 500 DC Open saw American players take center stage. Taylor Fritz secured a straightforward win, advancing to the third round without complications against Aleksandar Vukic. However, it wasn't all good news, as Reilly Opelka couldn't hold on to a one-set lead and a break point opportunity in the second set, ultimately falling to Daniil Medvedev.

This Thursday, the tournament will determine the eight players advancing to the quarterfinals, with Taylor Fritz and Ben Shelton leading the charge at the start of this North American hardcourt swing. Shelton, notably, also had a decisive victory in an all-American clash against wildcard Mackenzie McDonald.

World No. 4 Taylor Fritz made his return to hard courts after the grass-court swing. The American arrived in Washington with confidence, having reached the Wimbledon semifinals. The tournament's top seed was impeccable on serve, as is his custom, totaling 11 aces against the world No. 195's 9. However, the biggest differences were on the first serve, where Fritz won 88% of points compared to just 66% for Vukic.

An early break and a strong run of service points gave Fritz the first set without complications. He carried that momentum into the second set, where he was even more dominant. He won 16 of the first 20 points played, taking a 4-0 lead, and then simply relied on his serve to close out the 6-2, 6-3 victory, guaranteeing his passage to the Round of 16. Fritz will face Matteo Arnaldi in his next challenge.

World No. 8 Ben Shelton entered as a heavy favorite against wildcard Mackenzie McDonald, ranked just No. 95. Shelton didn't disappoint in his return to the courts. Like Fritz, the American No. 2 can boast a deep run at Wimbledon, where he reached the quarterfinals but couldn't overcome world No. 1 Jannik Sinner, the eventual champion. Shelton is a crowd favorite and is defending his 2024 semifinal appearance, where he fell to Italian Flavio Cobolli.

This time, he started in the best possible way with a commanding victory, winning an impressive 85% of his service points compared to only 60% for his opponent. The American was aggressive from the outset, hitting 23 winners against his rival's 12. Effectiveness in key moments was vital, converting 2 of 3 break points while not conceding a single break opportunity to McDonald. Shelton's 6-3, 6-4 win in one hour and 16 minutes propels him into a tough match against 15th seed Gabriel Diallo, the Canadian who continues his ascent on Tour after comfortably eliminating Fabian Marozsan.

Reilly Opelka has been battling to return to the top level after a long injury layoff. After a year off the courts, Opelka continues to seek consistency and accumulate ranking points, where he has already reached world No. 74. However, he suffered a second-round defeat to former world No. 1 Daniil Medvedev, squandering a lead.

The American capitalized on the early tension of the match and secured an immediate break against Medvedev. Opelka fulfilled his responsibility by clinging to his serve throughout the set, winning 15 of the last 16 points on his serve and closing the set 6-3.

In the second set, he maintained consistency on his serve and had a break opportunity at 3-3, which Medvedev managed to save. The Russian showed his experience in complicated moments and secured the break when it seemed everything would go to a tie-break, taking the second set 7-5. Medvedev displayed resilience in a second set where he consistently had break opportunities—a total of 10 throughout the set—converting two and closing out a hard-fought 3-6, 7-5, 6-1 victory.