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WASHINGTON — Wimbledon runner-up Nick Kyrgios needed 14 minutes to complete his rain-delayed Citi Open match against Reilly Opelka, efficiently closing out a 7-6 (1), 6-2 victory on Friday.
Saving energy was key for Kyrgios and others playing in hot, humid conditions at the hard-court US Open tuneup. Kyrgios, the 2019 champion in Washington, was scheduled to return to the court Friday night for a quarterfinal match against Frances Tiafoe, who grew up just outside the nation’s capital in Maryland.
Play was suspended again Friday afternoon because of lightning.
Tiafoe, the No. 10 seed, beat eighth-seeded Botic van de Zandschulp 4-6, 6-2, 6-3.
Also having to play two matches on Friday — weather permitting — was top-seeded Andrey Rublev, who rallied in a second-set tiebreak to beat Maxime Cressy 6-4, 7-6 (8). Trailing 5-3, Rublev used his reflexes to lob back an overhead smash by Cressy, who missed wide.
“In my head, the second set was done and I’ll just do my best to finish the second and I’ll fight for the third,” Rublev said.
The Russian is seeking his fourth ATP title this year, which would draw him even with Rafael Nadal and Carlos Alcaraz for the most in 2022. He next faces American wild card J.J. Wolf, who advanced to his first tour-level quarterfinal by rallying to win the last four games and beat Holger Rune 7-5, 4-6, 6-3.
Another American, Sebastian Korda, advanced to the quarterfinals by beating fifth-seeded Grigor Dimitrov 4-6, 6-1, 6-2.
On the women’s side, fourth-seeded veteran Victoria Azarenka endured an 80-minute first set to beat Tereza Martincova 7-6 (7), 6-2, and sixth-seeded Kaia Kanepi got past Anna Kalinskaya 6-7 (4), 6-4, 6-3 in a match that lasted 2 hours, 33 minutes.
US Open champion Emma Raducnau was scheduled to face Liudmila Samsonova on Friday night, followed by Azarenka’s second match of the day, this time against Xiyu Wang.