Taylor Townsend was a late addition to the singles field, but the 2024 Wimbledon doubles champion is making the most of the opportunity.
Townsend was among the early winners Tuesday afternoon, cruising to a 6-2, 6-2 win over Anastasia Potapova in just 69 minutes.
The win was especially gratifying for Townsend, given the setting. Townsend lived in Washington for nearly three years as a child and trained as a junior both in Rock Creek Park and at the WTEF in Southeast.
“It holds really special and incredible memories for me,” Townsend said of DC, in her on-court post-match interview.
“I have more friends up here than I do in Georgia. [The support] means so much to me. I love coming out to play here. It had been a long time since I played this tournament, so it really feels great to be back and see some familiar faces and catch up with people I haven’t seen in so long. This city holds a really special place for me.”
Back at the Mubadala Citi DC Open for the first time in nine years, Townsend is in the singles draw as an alternate after Anna Kalinskaya withdrew with an arm injury.
Townsend fired 10 aces and was never broken in her win over Potapova on Stadium Court-her first singles triumph since reaching the third round in Charleston in early April.
A doubles finalist in DC in 2013 with Genie Bouchard, Townsend is also partnering with Asia Muhammad as the top-seeded team in this year’s doubles draw.
On the men’s side, Thanasi Kokkinakis, Aleksander Kovacevic and 12th-seeded Miomir Kecmanovic were among the early winners Tuesday.
Kokkinakis rallied to beat fellow-Aussie Max Purcell 6-7(4), 6-4, 6-3, Kovacevic outlasted 2022 DC finalist Yoshihito Nishioka 4-6, 6-4, 6-2, while Kecmanovic beat American wild card J.J. Wolf 6-2, 6-3.
