Tennis: Halep, Raonic, Dimitrov take Washington wildcards
Simona Halep, Ranoic and Dimitrov have accepted wildcard entries for ATP and WTA Washington Open.
WASHINGTON (AFP) - World number two Simona Halep and men s top-10 players Milos Ranoic and Grigor Dimitrov have accepted wildcard entries for the ATP and WTA Washington Open, organizers announced Wednesday.
The US capital s hardcourt event, which begins July 31, comes just ahead of the top US Open tune-up tournaments in Canada and Cincinnati for the US Open, which begins August 28 in New York.
French Open runner-up Halep, a 25-year-old Romanian, stayed a career-best second in the rankings after Czech Karolina Plskova jumped to number one after Wimbledon and Germany s Angelique Kerber tumbled to third.
The return of 2014 Washington winner Raonic, who lost a Wimbledon quarter-final to eventual winner Roger Federer this month, gives the event its past four men s champions in the field.
Three-time winner Juan Martin del Potro, whose most recent crown came in 2013, was already set, as were eighth-ranked Kei Nishikori of Japan, the 2015 Washington champion, and 13th-ranked defending champion Gael Monfils of France.
Bulgaria s 10th-ranked Dimitrov joins Nishikori, Raonic and Germany s 11th-ranked Alexander Zverev to give the event four of the world s top 11.
Also accepting a wildcard was Sloane Stephens, who won her first WTA title at Washington in 2015.
Stephens, who has fallen to 901st in the rankings, missed 11 months after a left foot injury that required surgery in January. She made her comeback in a first-round loss at Wimbledon to fellow American Alison Riske.
Stephens, who had not competed since a first-round Rio Olympics loss to Canada s Eugenie Bouchard last August, won three times last year before the injury.
Bouchard, a 2014 Wimbledon runner-up, and Rio Olympic champion Monica Puig of Puerto Rico are also in the women s field.
