WASHINGTON (AP) — Top-seeded Taylor Fritz got his North American hard-court season off to a strong start by hitting 11 aces and saving the only break point he faced in a 6-3, 6-2 victory over Aleksandar Vukic at the DC Open on Wednesday.
The second-seeded woman, Emma Navarro, was eliminated at night by Maria Sakkari 7-5, 7-6 (1). Sakkari was the 2023 runner-up to Coco Gauff in Washington.
Fritz is coming off a semifinal run on the grass of Wimbledon. He will be trying to replicate last year's strong showing in this portion of the season, when he reached his first Grand Slam final at the U.S. Open.
After getting a first-round bye, Fritz now will play in the third round against Matteo Arnaldi, who eliminated No. 16 Lorenzo Sonego 7-5, 7-5.
Seeded men advancing included No. 7 Alex de Minaur, No. 8 Daniil Medvedev, No. 9 Flavio Cobolli, and No. 11 Jiri Lehecka, but No. 5 Andrey Rublev was a 7-5, 6-2 loser against 19-year-old American Learner Tien, and No. 10 Alexei Popyrin was defeated by qualifier Wu Yibing 7-5, 5-7, 6-3. Tien has four wins over opponents ranked in the top 10 this season.
Venus Williams' run in doubles with partner Hailey Baptiste ended in the second round with a 6-4, 3-6, 10-6 loss in a champion's tiebreaker to second-seeded Taylor Townsend and Zhang Shuai. The 45-year-old Williams is competing at her first tournament in more than a year — and first in doubles since 2022 — and she and Baptiste won their first-round match on Monday.
Williams will play her second-round singles match Thursday against Magdalena Frech. On Tuesday, Williams became the second-oldest woman to win a tour-level singles match, beating Payton Stearns — who is 23 — in straight sets.
In women's singles play Wednesday, unseeded Anna Kalinskaya eliminated No. 8 seed Magda Linette 6-4, 6-0, and No. 4 seed Clara Tauson beat qualifier Caroline Dolehide 3-6, 7-5, 6-4.
AP tennis: https://apnews.com/hub/tennis
Taylor Fritz of the U.S. returns to Spain's Carlos Alcaraz in a men's singles semifinal at the Wimbledon Tennis Championships in London, Friday, July 11, 2025. (AP Photo/Joanna Chan)
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Shaedon Sharpe scored 24 points and the Portland Trail Blazers overcame high-scoring Deni Avdija's absence to beat the Atlanta Hawks 117-101 on Thursday night.
Avdija missed second straight game because of lower-back soreness He’s averaging 26.1 points, 7.1 rebounds and 6.9 assists.
Portland took an 88-87 lead into the fourth quarter and pulled away. The Trail Blazers had lost two straight after winning five a row.
Jerami Grant added 16 points and Rayan Rupert had 13. Jrue Holiday scored 12 points in his third game back after missing 27 because of a right calf injury.
Onyeka Okongwu led Atlanta with 26 points. The Hawks were 1-3 on a four-game trip. They have lost nine in a row in Portland since Feb. 13, 2017.
CJ McCollum added 20 points in his third game with the Hawks since coming over from Washington in the trade that sent Trae Young to the Wizards. McCollum played his first 8 1/2 seasons with Portland.
Atlanta's Kristaps Porzingis missed his fourth straight game because of an Achilles problem.
Hawks: Host Boston on Saturday night.
Trail Blazers: Host the Los Angeles Lakers on Saturday night.
AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/nba
Atlanta Hawks Head Coach Quin Snyder looks to the referees during the first half of an NBA basketball game against the Portland Trail Blazers on Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026, in Portland, Ore. (AP Photo/Molly J. Smith)
Portland Trail Blazers center Donovan Clingan (23) reaches out to block a basket from Atlanta Hawks forward Jalen Johnson (1) during the first half of an NBA basketball game on Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026, in Portland, Ore. (AP Photo/Molly J. Smith)
Atlanta Hawks guard CJ McCollum (3) dribbles past Portland Trail Blazers guard Caleb Love (2) during the first half of an NBA basketball game on Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026, in Portland, Ore. (AP Photo/Molly J. Smith)
Atlanta Hawks forward Onyeka Okongwu (17) shoots a basket over Portland Trail Blazers center Donovan Clingan (23) during the first half of an NBA basketball game on Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026, in Portland, Ore. (AP Photo/Molly J. Smith)
Portland Trail Blazers center Donovan Clingan (23) blocks a basket from Atlanta Hawks forward/center Onyeka Okongwu (17) during the first half of an NBA basketball game on Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026, in Portland, Ore. (AP Photo/Molly J. Smith)
