The hard-court season gets underway on the ATP Tour this week with the Mubadala Citi DC Open, where top seed Alex de Minaur is back to defend his title.
De Minaur beat Alejandro Davidovich Fokina in a third-set tie break to land the title 12 months ago and he headlines a strong field heading to Washington, D.C.
The Australian is one of seven players ranked in the world's top 20 in the draw, with Ben Shelton, Taylor Fritz, Lorenzo Musetti, Learner Tien, Frances Tiafoe and Jakub Mensik also involved.
Former top-five players Jack Draper and Stefanos Tsitsipas have also been handed wildcards, and the latter has been pitted against De Minaur in the pick of the first-round matches.
ATP Mubadala Citi DC Open Tips Summary
Best Bet - Ben Shelton to win @ 13/2
Alternative Bet - Taylor Fritz to win @ 11/2
Alternative Bet - Stefanos Tsitsipas to beat Alex de Minaur @ 6/5
ATP Mubadala Citi DC Open Prediction
Best Bet: Ben Shelton to win @ 13/2
American star Shelton suffered a shock first-round exit at Wimbledon, going down in five sets to Otto Virtanen, while he did not fare much better at the French Open, losing in straight sets in the second round against Raphael Collignon.
However, in between those Grand Slam disappointments, the 23-year-old did pick up his third ATP Tour title of the year at the Stuttgart Open to go alongside his successes at the BMW Open and Dallas Open.
Two of those title wins - on grass in Stuttgart and on hard courts in Dallas - came after beating Fritz in the final and the two compatriots are again on opposite sides of the draw and could end up facing off in a final again.
Shelton certainly looks capable of going all the way at the William H.G. FitzGerald Tennis Center, as he has enjoyed deep runs on his last two appearances at the event, reaching the semi-finals in both 2024 and 2025.
The draw also looks favourable for Shelton, with his toughest test en route to a potential final perhaps set to come against another American, Tiafoe, in the quarter-finals should both players make it that far.
World number six Shelton has won three of six career titles on the ATP Tour on hard courts and he could add a fourth in the American capital this week.
Alternative Bet: Taylor Fritz to win @ 11/2
If Shelton doesn't win then there is still a good chance the trophy could end up in American hands, with four of the top six seeds hailing from the States, including world number 10 Fritz.
The 28-year-old enjoyed a strong if ultimately fruitless grass-court season, reaching the finals of both the Stuttgart and Halle Opens before making it to the quarter-finals of Wimbledon where, hampered by a knee injury, he bowed out to Alexander Zverev.
After a few weeks off to recover, Fritz will now be aiming to enjoy a strong start to the American hard-court season, which he hopes will culminate in another run to the US Open final having reached that stage in 2024.
A strong showing in Washington, D.C. will certainly be a step in the right direction and a favourable opening match against Zizou Bergs should cause few problems.
Tien, Mensik and De Minaur are all on Fritz's side of the draw, but the American, with five hard-court titles to his name, will be confident of a deep run which could perhaps end with him landing a first tournament success since winning the Eastbourne International in June 2025.
Stefanos Tsitsipas to beat Alex de Minaur @ 6/5
De Minaur is the defending champion and top seed but he has been handed an extremely tough opening match against former world number three Tsitsipas, who is not a player he enjoys coming up against.
Greek ace Tsitsipas has won 12 of the 13 previous meetings between the pair at ATP Tour level, most recently claiming a straight-sets victory at this year's Miami Open, one of nine victories he has claimed over De Minaur on hard courts.
Tsitsipas is also fresh from landing a first title of the year at this month's Swiss Open and with form and fitness seemingly on his side, he could dump the top seed out in the opening round.
Key Tournament Stats
Alex de Minaur is the defending champion after beating Alejandro Davidovich Fokina in last year's final
Top-10 players De Minaur, Ben Shelton and Taylor Fritz are all featuring in the draw
This is the 57th edition of the Washington Open, with the first tournament held in 1969
Andre Agassi is the record five-time winner of this event
De Minaur and Kei Nishikori are the only previous winners in this year's draw
Daniil Medvedev and Felix Auger-Aliassime are among the players who have pulled out of the event
Read more tennis betting tips and predictions on site.
This article was written by a partner sports writer via Spotlight Sports Group. All odds displayed on this page were correct at the time of writing and are subject to withdrawal or change at any time.
