DC Open ATP Day Two Round-Up | Jakub Mensik completes comeback, Hewitt earns biggest win as Fils suffers early exit

Rafael Jódar produced the upset of the day by defeating Arthur Fils in straight sets, while Cruz Hewitt continued his dream ATP debut with a landmark victory over Marcos Giron at the DC Open. Brandon Nakashima also advanced with a composed straight-sets performance, and Kamil Majchrzak claimed one of the tournament’s biggest early surprises by eliminating home favourite Tommy Paul.

Several other notable names also progressed in Washington, including Ugo Humbert, Adrian Mannarino, Ben Shelton and Jakub Menšík, but the standout stories of the day belonged to the young talents making major statements on the ATP stage.

Rafael Jódar delivered one of the biggest surprises of the tournament so far, defeating Arthur Fils 7-6(4), 6-3 to reach the second round in Washington.

The Spaniard showed remarkable composure from the opening exchanges, matching Fils’ power and intensity throughout a tightly contested first set. Although the Frenchman had started strongly and looked to dictate from the baseline, Jódar absorbed the pressure and forced the set into a tiebreak, where he produced his best tennis of the match.

After taking the opener, the 18-year-old carried that confidence into the second set and quickly earned the decisive break. Fils searched for a way back into the contest, but Jódar remained calm under pressure and continued to execute his game plan with impressive maturity.

The Spaniard closed out the victory without allowing Fils a final opportunity to respond, securing one of the biggest wins of his young career and announcing himself as another rising talent to watch on the ATP Tour.

Cruz Hewitt announced himself on the ATP stage with a landmark victory, defeating world No. 80 Marcos Giron 6-3, 6-4 in his main-draw debut.

The Australian teenager looked composed from the beginning, handling the occasion with surprising maturity against a far more experienced opponent. After taking control of the opening set, Hewitt continued to apply pressure in the second and earned the decisive break at the crucial moment.

Giron attempted to stay close throughout the match, but Hewitt consistently won the important points and showed impressive calm in the closing stages. The teenager never allowed the American to fully turn the momentum and confidently served out the biggest victory of his career.

The result is expected to provide a significant ranking boost, with Hewitt projected to climb more than 200 places and move close to the top 350 after a breakthrough performance in Washington.

Brandon Nakashima produced another polished hard-court performance, defeating Tomás Martín Etcheverry 6-3, 6-4 to book his place in the next round.

The American made the perfect start by breaking early in the opening set and immediately taking control of the match. From there, Nakashima remained extremely solid behind his serve and consistently applied pressure on return, preventing Etcheverry from finding any sustained rhythm.

The Argentine stayed within striking distance for much of the contest, but Nakashima repeatedly won the key points and never allowed his opponent a real opportunity to take control. His clean ball-striking and disciplined baseline play proved too much for Etcheverry over the course of the match.

Nakashima completed the straight-sets victory with another composed service game, continuing his strong run of form on North American hard courts.

Jakub Menšík recovered from a difficult start to defeat Trevor Svajda in three sets and secure his place in the second round of the DC Open. The Czech teenager struggled in the opening stages as Svajda imposed his aggressive style and took advantage of Menšík’s slow start to claim the first set 6-2.

Menšík responded strongly in the second set, improving his level and finding more consistency behind his serve. Neither player was able to create separation in a tightly contested set, but the Czech held his nerve in the tiebreak to level the match and force a deciding set.

With the momentum on his side, Menšík continued pushing in the final set and found the crucial breakthrough to complete the comeback. The 6-2, 6-7(5), 6-3 victory sends the Czech through to the next round in Washington after a resilient performance against the American teenager.