Robin Montgomery earned her maiden win in DC the hard way. Digging herself an early 2-5 hole, Montgomery ultimately rallied to win the next seven games in a 7-5, 6-3 triumph over Tour veteran Shelby Rogers. Montgomery advanced before a supportive home crown on John Harris Court.

“It means a lot,” Montgomery said after her first-round win Monday.

“I haven’t played here since 2019, so having my friends here this week come out support me, it means a lot. My childhood coach [the JTCC’s Ali Agnamba] who gave me my foundation as a player, he was able to come, so it means a lot to me to pull out a win and compete at this level and play on these courts and to show how far we’ve come.” 

Montgomery recalled competing in Rock Creek Park as a junior with Agnamba making bold predictions.

“There used to always be a 10-and-under event that happened on the clay courts, and Ali used to always tell me, you’re going to be here playing in the pros one day. Did I believe it? No. I was 9. So, it’s really surreal for me to be here into the second round and for him to be here to watch me.”

Montgomery will next face three-time Grand Slam finalist and former World No.2 Ons Jabeur in the second round. Jabeur defeated Montgomery earlier this month in the second round at Wimbledon, but said in her press conference last weekend that the teenager has Top 10 potential.

 “I truly feel like she can be one of the greatest players,” Jabeur said.

Montgomery is far from the only local product in Rock Creek Park this week with DMV natives Frances Tiafoe, Hailey Baptiste and Clervie Ngounoue all in action on Tuesday.

“From qualifying through the main draw, there are a lot of kids who grew up with this tournament as a big part of their lives, who grew up coming to the event, and now they're playing here,” tournament chairman Mark Ein said Monday.

“All of those stories mean so much to us. The ability to give these opportunities to players who grew up in DC and came to the tournament as kids and are now competing at the highest level, it's one of the many things that makes this tournament so special."

Tiafoe has often described his hometown tournament as the one he’d most like to win after the Grand Slams. The JTCC alum has advanced as far as the quarterfinals each of the past two years, only to fall to the eventual champion.

“I'm definitely ready to win this thing,” he said Monday ahead of his eighth career appearance in Rock Creek Park. 

 For Tiafoe, that quest is set to begin in primetime on Tuesday when he faces Colombia’s Daniel Elahi Galan on Stadium Court (not before 6 p.m.).

 The Tiafoe-Galan match on Stadium will follow Baptiste’s first-round match as she faces former World No.1 and two-time Grand Slam champion Victoria Azarenka (not before 3 p.m).

For the second straight year, Baptiste earned her way into the main draw after a successful run through qualifying over the weekend.

Ngounoue will play her first match on John Harris Court when she takes on American Peyton Stearns Tuesday. Ngounoue, 18, arrived at her home tournament late Sunday night after capturing a big ITF title in Dallas.

 The 2023 Wimbledon Girls’ singles champion, who used to walk to the FitzGerald Tennis Center as a kid and hit balls with her siblings, has now won two ITF titles this year and is ranked inside the top 300 for the first time in her career.

 “I just appreciate the blessing of being here and being able to compete with the best of the best again,” Ngounoue said Monday. “Coming here with a title, I’m super happy with that, but I’m well aware it’s a new tournament with a fresh set of players.”