Tennis Central's senior writer Michael Augsberger delivers his notes on our home tournament in DC: What you don't see unless you're there.

What a thrilling first-ever visit to the Citi Open for Rafael Nadal, pushed to the brink by Jack Sock to a final set tiebreak. Is there any doubt Rafa is the most electric player on tour?
Notes on the Rafa-Sock thriller: 6-2, 4-6, 7-6, Nadal
Watch Nadal's foot. His fitness is fine, he said, and three long sets (three hours of play) prove he's up to it even after a layoff. It's the discomfort and the noticeable limp that could limit him against Harris, the South African, Thursday in the Round of 16, especially without a day to recover. If he's going to be sightseeing today, he'll take a scooter.
Sock swung from his shoes and landed enough haymakers to seriously worry the 20-time slam champion. He reminds us he's a slam champion, too, in doubles. But in the end he let the crowd disrupt his concentration. And even from the start it was clear Sock tempered his belief with a mock, playful frustration.
No one sweats more than the Majorcan. Sock, however, went to the towel almost every point in the swampy DC night, while Nadal stood and waited for him.
0 for 7 by my count on drop shots tonight. Often they were cop outs on Sock's part, and the seventh was perfect against anyone but Nadal, who chased it down and brought every single fan to their feet.
Notes on the Citi Open ambience
Ten years of visiting New York might have spoiled me. But I will say this about the contrast between Citi and Flushing Meadows—I’ve never seen the night session at Ashe so packed for the player intros. After the warm up here, there were hardly any seats open. Fans were a lot more punctual than the 7-train crowd for Nadal’s debut in DC.
Tough for Citi officials to have — cough — drawn it up any better for Rafa’s opening round. You always want an American in prime time, and you always want Rafa. A former top ten and American No. 1 suffices pretty well.
Rafa spotted sightseeing in the mornings in the capital, and at a local coffee shop.
Notes on the early matches
"A graveyard for seeds today" is what Tennis Channel called it. Bublik out—Dmitrov out—de Minaur out—Evans out—Fritz out—the top doubles seeds out in a match tiebreak, 10-7.
Every time I’ve seen Dmitrov in New York, he’s battling for his life an unknown on Court 17 or the Grandstand. That he couldn’t find his way out of the maze today somehow wasn’t surprising.
Millman was taken to a second set tiebreak and found some inspiration from a father and young daughter, maybe 16 or so, standing near the entrance. He chatted with them at the tiebreak changeover and pointed to them after every point he won. “Thanks for cheering for me,” he told them and took some selfies. There didn’t seem to be any more connection than that. Good to see that kind of interaction. And a g'day for Millman who also unseated the top doubles seeds.
On that note, the stadium DJ regretted that Rafa could not sign any autographs on the way on or off the court tonight, to an audible groan from the kids lined up in the southeast corner. But I saw players on the outer courts signing balls and posing for selfies with no problem.
David Foster Wallace once noted every stop on tour has its color. DC’s is very emphatically blue. Every champion going back to 1969 has his or her name painted on the awnings over the suites—all except 2019 women’s champion. “Pegula” is covered; maybe they'll unveil it Friday when Jessica plays Victoria Azarenka here.
Are the ballkids prepared for the spotlight? Millman looked like a hungry diner at a restaurant at times, visibly displeased with some of the wait times when he was serving, especially in that last tiebreak.
As it happened: Rafael Nadal v Jack Sock
Sock guesses wrong on Rafa's first serve out wide. Seems to be swinging big on Nadal’s service games. Wild miss down the line on second point. He'll live by the sword or die by it tonight, and that's the only strategy to beat Rafa with.
Sock with first early chances to break. “Soak up the pressure from Nadal’s forehand, if he gets the chance to step into a forehand he’s got to take it, and he did there,” as the commentary went, to set up third break chance. But he’s still at the mercy of Rafa, playing defensive points and chasing balls down. And once Rafa fended him off, you had to fancy him to break Sock quickly.
"Maybe the split volley will ignite Sock’s fire," I wrote before the first break. But Rafa responded with the point of the night to get to 30-30. Rushing the net, then lobbed and chasing it down for a tweener, then back to the net. After a tough return, Sock tried to take the sting out of it and went down 30-40.
Attempts to produce a narrative don’t always go down well. It wasn’t right away, but Rafa did run away with the first set after that long deuce battle during which Sock failed to convert on three break points.
"Do you see the Spanish flag?" A DC photographer asks me. Indeed, none flies over the stadium court. You have to look to Court 4, with the least seating, to find it. Can we remedy that?
Sock showing frustration in throwing his racquet at 2-4 on a volley that had him going the wrong direction? Or mere flash for the crowd?
"Vamos Jack!" gets some laughs as we begin the second set.
Sock in a playful mood at 3-3 throwing the ball back at Rafa after a net cord, which validates my thinking about his earlier racquet toss. (It didn’t warrant a warning from the umpire.) And he is copping out of points more and more with drop shots that aren’t connecting.
But then a jumping forehand and a break point opportunity. And he didn’t necessarily force the error from Rafa on the fifth break point, the first he converted, but he did enough that Rafa couldn’t run around that forehand he netted as fast as he would’ve liked.
Bursts of confidence from Sock now. His huge hacks are landing. He’s running around his backhand with impeccable footwork. Even the balls he’s stretching for are finding Rafa’s trouble spots. Sliding, flat forehands meant to end the point one way or another. And he almost broke Rafa again at 5-3.
Another outstanding point at deuce to earn Sock another set point. But Rafa answers with the best forehand of the night, a sizzling shot hit from outside the singles line having run around his backhand. At deuce again, Sock blasts a forehand return, untouchable. This is the best tennis of the evening. And finally a serve out wide with that lefty spin to make Sock serve it out if he wants the second set.
Which he does. Match Point?! That's what flashes on the big screens here. Not quite. Citi Open getting a huge laugh from the crowd as Sock earns another set point with an inside out, short forehand. Rafa’s been motivated by far less offensive things than that.
Someone in the crowd has clearly galvanized Sock in the opening stages of this third set. I just worry the focus does not match Rafa's.
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