Zverev, Mattek- Sands light up Citi Taste of Tennis

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The first-ever Citi Taste of Tennis event was held in D.C. on Monday night and it gave players energized hearts and full stomachs for a busy week at the Citi Open.

Washington's biggest stars ventured out to Hamilton Live in downtown Washington for a night of fine dining with some of the best chefs in the world, including Top Chef's Ron Duprat. Alexander Zverev, Frances Tiafoe, Bethanie Mattek-Sands, Steve Johnson, Mike Bryan, Stefanos Tsitsipas, Hyeon Chung and Naomi Osaka were all in attendance for a rare night out together.

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"I'm here for the food," Mattek-Sands told Baseline. "Really what I love about the Taste of Tennis is you get a little bit of everything. You can get dressed up for the red carpet which is always fun. The food here is amazing. Whether you like sushi, whether you like southern, pizza, pasta, everything, it's all here. It's literally a taste of everything."

Mattek-Sands drew a tough opponent in the International WTA event as she'll take on world No. 3 Sloane Stephens on Tuesday. But on Monday, that was far from the American's mind as she enjoyed the food, the DJ spinning great music and the friendly atmosphere at Citi Taste of Tennis.

"I think just within the weeks of tennis its important to have these little get togethers, these little parties," she said. "No one's here till 2 a.m. or anything, but we all get to wine and dine."

Mattek-Sands is a regular at all of the Citi Taste of Tennis events which include stops in Indian Wells, Miami, New York and now, D.C.

The food spread included everything from fresh guacamole and sliders to lobster wraps, quiche, pasta, bruschetta, tofu bites and a slew of desserts and beverages. A crew of young stars took a swirl through all of the decadent options and Osaka even tried her hand at DJ-ing.

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"With Taste of Tennis I've heard a lot about it," 19-year-old Tsitsipas said. "I'm happy to be finally [here]."

The world No. 32-ranked Greek is making his Citi Open debut this week as the No. 10 seed. For his rapid rise up the ranks, he's been rewarded with a bye to the second round.

"I don't get to play in the United States that often," he said. "I feel nice coming here. It's my second time in D.C. I played a junior tournament many years ago. I like the city. It's very European I would say."

Veterans were also making the rounds as Bryan and Johnson were joined at the event by Mischa Zverev and Marcelo Melo, to name a few.

"I've had a chance to be a part of a few of them," Johnson said about Citi Taste of Tennis. "It's fun to get out and do something different. Meet a lot of people and just see some of us tennis people outside of the locker room."

The players were all treated like A-list celebrities and given light-up blue wristbands to make them stand out from the crowd, which was packed and dancing for the entire night.

"They're trying to single us out. I try to fly under the radar most of the time," Johnson said, jokingly. "I'm here to have some fun, have some good fun and just enjoy the night."

The 28-year-old certainly deserves a night off after winning Newport just a few weeks ago, but he won't be flying under the radar this week as one of the top Americans in the star-studded draw.

ATP & WTA Washington D.C.

Catch all the action from the Citi Open with live coverage from three courts on Tennis Channel Plus beginning Monday, July 30th at 2:00 PM ET. All matches also available on-demand.