COLLEGE PARK, MD -- On the first day of the inaugural Citi Open, a new International-level WTA tournament being held just outside Washington, DC in College Park, Maryland, I chatted with fast-rising British phenom Heather Watson. 

Watson, the 2009 US Open Girls' champion, just earned direct entry to a Grand Slam (the 2011 US Open) for the first time.  She has made it to the quarterfinals of two WTA-level tournaments so far this year, in Auckland and Memphis.

The whole interview, plus a few more photos of Watson practicing, can be found here.

As the US Open draws closer, more and more of our tennis coverage here at SB Nation will be coming to you via the Tennis hub of SBNation.com, which you can find here.  We'll try to link here to the coverage there as much as possible, but you'll be well served by adding it to your bookmarks and RSS readers today.

WASHINGTON--Owner's Mark Ein's unparalleled determination to have his World Team Tennis team succeed has made the Washington Kastles into a seemingly unstoppable juggernaut. 

Both Venus and Serena Williams play selected matches for the team, and multiple Grand Slam doubles champions Leander Paes and Rennae Stubbs prove add a level of experience that no other team can match.

Currently at 15-0, the Kastles are in the World Team Tennis finals Sunday in Charleston, and only one win away from becoming the first team to finish the regular season and playoffs undefeated.  Only one other team has finished the regular season undefeated in WTT history (the Newport Beach Dukes in 1994).

After finishing the 2010 season at a disappointing 8-6, the Kastles made only one change to their lineup for the 2011 season, adding Russian-Australian Arina Rodionova to the team.  Rodionova, whose older sister Anastasia has blazed a trail for her in both singles in doubles, has more than held her own on the stacked Kastles team, and was named the WTT Rookie of the Year for 2011.

Rodionova, who has been dubbed "Hot Rod" by fans, clearly has enjoyed every minute of her time playing for the Kastles.  But then again, who wouldn't like playing for a winning team in sold out stadiums?

Late in the World Team Tennis regular season, I chatted with Arina about topics ranging from her teammates, her opponent and idol Martina Hingis, and the ever growing Australian affinity for sunglasses.

* * *

TDF: What made you decide to play World Team Tennis?

Arina Rodionova: Well, I heard a lot of good things about it from my friends who had played it already. I heard it's really a lot of fun, plus it's a good experience because they have, like, marquee players.

TDF: Which friends of yours had played World Team Tennis before?

Arina Rodionova: First of all, my sister. She played for a couple years. Then it was Dmitry Tursunov, him too. And some other girls I can't remember now.

TDF: I saw that Alla Kudryavtseva tweeted at you that she wanted to play World Team Tennis now because of how much fun you were having...

Arina Rodionova: Yeah, never played it, but yeah, she's like one of my best friends.

TDF: Have you enjoyed it so far, is it what you expected it to be?

Arina Rodionova: Yeah, it's been even better I think. It's been even better, I think. I think I have a great team. And now, since I've traveled a bit to some other cities, I see that we have the best stadium, the best supporters. The atmosphere of the team is unbelievable.

TDF: You got to play against Martina Hingis on Tuesday, who I heard was one of your idols growing up?

Arina Rodionova: My main idol, yeah. It was unbelievable, it was a great experience. It was great fun, and she's a great champion. Even though she is retired, she played unbelievable.

TDF: She apparently was asked by Roger Federer if she would come back to play mixed doubles at the Olympics for Switzerland--having just played her, do you think she's good enough to do that?

Arina Rodionova: Yes. If she will practice a bit--she doesn't even need to practice, actually. She'll still be better than most of the girls. Do you know what she said to him, if she's coming back or not for the Olympics?

TDF: She said she hasn't decided yet, so hopefully she does.

Arina Rodionova: Yeah, definitely.

TDF: You had the Williams sisters on the Kastles at the beginning, which meant you didn't get to play as much at the start, but you also got to play alongside them. What was that like for you?

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WASHINGTON--With American media hungry to find "the next Melanie Oudin," Beatrice "Trice" Capra of Ellicott City, Maryland briefly became the face of the 2010 US Open.

After crushing 2004 Wimbledon quarterfinalist Karolina Sprem 6-1, 6-3 in the first round, then 371st-ranked Capra pulled off the upset of the tournament's first week with a 7-5, 2-6, 6-3 victory over No. 18 seed Aravane Rezai.

But Capra's run ended emphatically at the hands of three-time grand slam champion Maria Sharapova, who bounced Capra from the tournament by the score of 6-0, 6-0 in an absurdly windy Arthur Ashe Stadium.

Capra, who won the USTA's wild card playoff to enter the tournament, had previously planned on going to college at Duke instead of turning pro out of high school.  But her surprising run to the middle weekend of a grand slam complicated those plans, encouraging her to test the waters of the pro circuit further.

But unable to continue the form that had allowed her to beat Sprem and Rezai, Capra has gone 4-13 in matches since the US Open. 

Capra is going to Duke this fall, but had the chance to play for the Philadelphia Freedoms (of Elton John fame) in World Team Tennis this summer.  I caught up with her after the team's final match, a loss to the undefeated Washington Kastles.

* * *

TDF: You just finished your first season playing World Team Tennis--what has the whole experience been like for you?

Beatrice Capra: It's been amazing, I've never done anything like this. I had a great team, I had great coaches, and to be able to play on the court with Rennae Stubbs, Venus Williams, Martina Hingis--it's been an honor and I've had a lot of fun.

TDF: You obviously made a name for yourself at the US Open last year, making the third round there. I know that you're planning on going to college this fall, at Duke--are you going to try to play the US Open before that?

Beatrice Capra: I'm not sure yet. I know that I'll need a wild card into it, so if I get a wild card then for sure I'll play. But if not, I'm leaving for college August 23rd.

TDF: Would you take a wild card into qualifying, if that's what you got?

Beatrice Capra: Oh yeah, I would take anything. (laughs)

TDF: I know after the US Open last year you weren't sure if you were going to go to college or turn pro. What was that process like, coming to this decision?

Beatrice Capra: It was definitely tough, you know. I always wanted to go to college, but at the US Open it gave me a glimpse of what I could do. But I think that for me to go to college and have that education secured will definitely be good for me. Especially since on the women's tour now, you know, everyone's doing well at an older age. So I think I have a lot more time.

TDF: But you're definitely thinking that you want to give it another shot at the pro level once college ends?

Beatrice Capra: Oh for sure, yeah. My main priority is always going to be a professional tennis player.

With the inaugural Citi Open beginning this Saturday in College Park, Maryland, the WTA Tour returning to the Washington, DC area for the first time since 1991.

The previous event, the long-defunct Virginia Slims of Washington, was a prestigious indoor event that boasted champions such as Margaret Court Billie Jean King, Martina Navratilova (TEN times), Chris Evert, Tracy Austin (twice), Hana Mandlikova, Steffi Graf, and Arantxa Sanchez-Vicario. 

While the 2011 Citi Open doesn't boast nearly as prestigious a field, having a WTA-level tournament return to the nation's capital after a two-decade absence is a tremendous thing for Washington's huge base of tennis fans.

Back in June, I talked with tournament director Sam Duvall about the challenges of running a new tournament, including attracting players, being concurrent with the larger tournament that same week in Stanford, and more.

* * *

TDF: Who's idea was this tournament? What was the genesis of it?

Sam Duvall: Well, I'm not sure if you know the history of our company [Lagardere], but we've managed the Legg Mason since its inception.  Our group's president is Donald Dell, and he's managed the tournament since it started, over forty years.  We've been in the market to bring a women's tournament to the area, because tennis has a rich tradition here and is usually well attended.  We felt like there was a need for a good-sized WTA event.

TDF: Did you think about making the Legg Mason a combined event? Or did you always want to keep them separate?

Sam Duvall: For now, the goal is to keep it as two seperate events.  It was the easiest way to get women's tennis here--to bring an event, rather than to ATP and get them to approve a combined event at that site.  That wasn't going to happen.

TDF: Did the ATP issues also influence your decision not to host this event at the Fitzgerald Tennis Center where the men's event is? Did you need to keep this at a different place?

Sam Duvall: Originally we were planning to have the event in Howard County, in Elkridge, Maryland.  They're planning to build a $30-40 million tennis and multi-sport facility there, and given the economic climate that was pushed back a year.  This year we're gonna host the event--we wanted to keep it in Maryland, so the next best site was the Tennis Center at College Park, where the University of Maryland's teams play.  There's a pretty big following over there with the USTA Regional Training Center.

TDF: This tournament is going to be the same week as another WTA tournament in Stanford.  It's pretty rare for there to be two WTA tournaments in the same country in the same week.  Does that present any problems in terms of attracting players, publicity, or anything like that?

Sam Duvall: Sure, it's not ideal, not having the tournament all by ourselves in the States.  But if you look at tournaments going on right now, there's two tournaments within a two or three hour flight of each other [ed. note: Eastbourne and 's-Hertogenbosch], so at least we're at opposite ends of the country from Stanford.  At the end of the day, I think people just want to watch high-level tennis.  Sure, we're definitely competing for players, and Stanford's a much bigger tournament, so they have a much easier crack at it.  We'll see, I guess.

TDF: How does the process of trying to attract players to play at an inaugural tournament work? Do you try to look at who hasn't played Stanford before? How do you determine which players to target, to woo to come Washington?

Sam Duvall: A lot of it is our city in general.  Washington is obviously a pretty big tourist destination, and a lot of international who are living in the States, at least females, never get the chance to come to DC because they're traveling all the time.  If you're gonna market Washington, DC vs. Stanford, California, I think I'd much rather come to DC.  There's other things to do.  Especially for Europeans, its easier to travel--a lot of direct flights here, things like that.

TDF: I haven't seen any sort of entry list for the tournament yet--do you have any confirmations of who is definitely coming, or who might be coming?

Sam Duvall: You'll know this week, it's our entry deadline.  We've been advertising Shahar Pe'er, who's arguably the greatest Israeli athlete in any sport today.  We feel like there's a very big Jewish following in this community.  Then Melanie Oudin, who is pretty recognizable from her US Open run.  We also have a girl named Sloane Stephens, who a lot of people think is going to be the next Venus and Serena.  She's actually an Under Armour athlete, ranked around No. 120 in the world now, so she'll be here as well.

TDF: The US Open Series will be going on at the same time as your tournament, but your event isn't part of it.  Did you guys try to get into that promotion at all?

Sam Duvall: Yeah, it's a good question, I think it's definitely something that we'll look at for next year.  I think with the timing, with the site being up in the air...frankly we got off the ground a little bit late because of the site.  We never really expected to be part of the US Open Series in Year One anyway, so...

TDF: Is there anything else you're planning in terms of promoting the event locally, through advertising or otherwise?

Margaret Murton (Senior Events Manager at Lagardere): As soon as we announce our title sponsor, we're certainly going to get into advertising.  There will be lots of community outreach, and lots of special events surrounding it.  Mainly for us, though, we want to establish this as an event seperate from the Legg Mason, and something that's really good for the community.

The 2011 Citi Open will run July 23-31 at The Tennis Center at College Park.  Follow the tournament on Twitter @CitiOpen , and our in-depth coverage here at The Daily Forehand and on Twitter @DailyForehand .

If there was ever a reality show featuring tennis players it would surely include the Ellison Sisters, Roxanne and Sierra of Orange County, CA.

The Daily Forehand caught up with these two sisters who were competing this week in the Norman Wilkerson Memorial Tournament, a USTA Women's Pro Circuit event held outside of Atlanta.

While most people mistake these two six-foot blondes for twins, Roxanne is actually one year older, but they both have one more year left to play college tennis at San Diego State.

As juniors they were the #1 ranked doubles team in the country and now as collegians they are two-time Mountain West All-Conference selections. We talked about the sport they love, playing doubles as sisters and a certain reality show that is filmed in the community where they live.

As good as they are on the court, they are even nicer and more accommodating off the court. A pro tennis career is in their near future, but as the years go on, the sky is the limit for these two in whatever they decide to do.

The Daily Forehand:  How were you both introduced to the game of tennis, and did you immediately like it?

Roxanne: We were introduced to tennis when we were two and three. Our parents wanted to get us involved in sports at a young age.

Sierra: I enjoyed tennis when I was really young but I was also such a free spirited kid, I wanted to try everything. My parents were the ones to really helped me stay focused and committed to playing. I didn’t really learn to love the sport until I was in college. Now I can’t live without it.

The Daily Forehand:  You have had a lot of success playing doubles, do you think that might be your avenue to a pro career as there are players who are so-called doubles specialists earning a living on the tour?

Sierra: After graduating from college we intend to make a serious go of it on the pro tour. We enjoy singles but doubles is what some people say we were made for.

Roxanne: Sierra’s a lefty and I’m a righty which helps to create a strong force on the doubles court combined with our attacking serve and volley style of game and over all presence.

Sierra: We like to put on a show for the crowd.

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WASHINGTON--With a white Nike Cap pulled low over her eyes, Serena Williams finally arrived to her pre-match press conference some 15 minutes late. 

Though late, it still made her far earlier than she had been earlier in the day, according to the reporters who grumbled about her being a full half-hour late to her afternoon clinic with local kids, a traditional stop for players participating in World Team Tennis.

It was immediately apparent during the presser that Serena was in no mood to be there.  Whereas Venus Williams began her presser Tuesday with a cheery "Hi, guys!," Serena plopped herself down behind the microphone and seemed to sigh.

Serena has her chatty moments with the press, but Thursday was clearly not one of them.  Her answers were short, uninformative, and often condescending.  Asked if her current ranking of No. 175 was motivational by Liz Clarke of The Washington Post, Serena's answer amounted to: "It is what it is." 

I've been in pressers with moody Serena (and other moody players) plenty, so I wasn't especially fazed.  I went into the presser with a question in mind, so I asked it:

SBN: Serena, because of your injuries, tonight will be your first match in the US since the 2009 US Open, where you had a sort of infamous exit.  You made a commercial for Wilson recently that made light of the whole thing--how do you feel about it now? Is it just something you can joke about?

Serena Williams: Oh yeah...I mean, I don't even remember that incident, to be honest.  Whatever.  That was ages ago.  That was so 2009.

I understand that the point penalty that ended her 2009 US Open semifinal isn't going to be her favorite topic, but it was still fair game on this occasion for a number of reasons. 

Firstly, this was her first match in the US since it happened.  Injuries kept Serena out of Miami in 2010, and every American tournament since the injury happened in July of last year.  She's won two grand slams since it happened (the Australian Open and Wimbledon in 2010), which makes the fact that she hasn't played in the US since all the more peculiar and noteworthy.

Secondly, and more importantly, Serena addressed (and unburied) the incident within the last month, with this commercial for Wilson that came out in June: 

So, yeah.  She clearly doesn't remember. At least she was "being honest."

A few questions later, I tried something completely different (with not much more success):

SBN: Serena, having not played in almost a year, you made it to the second week of a grand slam, which is pretty impressive. How close do you think you are to being all the way back to where you were pre-injury? Do you think you're there yet, or how far do you still have to go.

Serena Williams: I'm getting there, and hopefully I'll be there really soon.  And...yeah. I'm hoping I'm getting there.

So while she may have been grumpy, she wasn't especially pessimistic, which is good, I guess.

* * *

After practically sleepwalking onto the court, Serena seemed to find her spark pretty quickly once she realized the Obamas (minus Barack, pictured with her above) were in attendance. 

The Kastles, led by Serena, defeated the visiting Boston Lobsters 25-10, one of the most lopsided scorelines I've ever seen in World Team Tennis. 

The closest match by far was the closing event, women's singles, which came down to the final point between Serena and Boston's Coco Vandeweghe.  Serena trailed 3-1, but prevailed 5-4(5-4) in a tiebreak.  She finished with an impressive forehand winner that inspired Michelle Obama to give a triumphant fistpump high in the air.

Before her opening World Team Tennis match, Venus Williams held a brief press conference with local Washington media (of which I am one), her first appearance since losing in the fourth round of Wimbledon.

With the light World Team Tennis atmosphere not really lending itself for heavier queries that might broach "the P-word" (Pironkova), questions were all over the place, ranging from the expected (her thoughts on Washington and World Team Tennis) to the bizarre (what one question she'd like to ask Britney Spears).  Venus expressed her appreciation of the new stadium near the wharf that the Washington Kastles action this summer.  Overlooking the Potomac River, the new stadium is a beautiful welcome upgrade from the Kastles' previous home in a Chinatown parking lot.  The evening weather also cooperated, which made the whole event doubly enjoyable.

In the two questions I was able to get in, I tried to keep things at least vaguely related to Washington and WTT, with limited success. 

SBN: Venus, you've had a lot of success in the Olympics in doubles, and next year they're adding mixed doubles to the Olympics (which is a part of World Team Tennis as well).  I've heard that you're playing with Bob Bryan--is that right? And do you plan on playing any grand slams with him to prepare?

Venus Williams: You know, I've been known not to commit to relationships (laughs). So I'll be waiting 'til the last minute to see what's best, you know? I'm always a "grass is greener" kind of girl (laughs). It's a bad habit that's followed over to tennis.  I've always said I'd have to be in the best shape of my life to play three events, because I'll be playing to win all three events.  That's a lot of matches in only eight days. But yeah, I'm definitely looking forward to the Olympics.

This seems pretty newsworthy to me.  When mixed doubles were officially announced in December of 2009, Andy Roddick and Serena Williams quickly announced their partnership, and Bob Bryan made several comments suggesting that he and Venus were also set as a pair. 

Not only does Venus cast doubt on that notion, she almost makes it sound as though she's waiting for a better offer.  Better than an 18-time grand slam winner? Does such an American exist?

SBN: Venus, one of the things we have here in DC is an exhibit at the National Museum of American History of dresses worn by First Ladies over the years.  You've worn a lot of memorable things out court over the years--do you still have them all? And have you ever thought of putting together a museum exhibit of your and Serena's fashions over the years?

Venus Williams: I do! I save at least one of all my dresses.  A lot of them I sign and give to charity.  A lot of my dresses are limited editions, so I definitely save them. Definitely, over the years, I think it would be great to have an exhibition of the outfits Serena and I have worn.  It would be a pretty interesting commentary on women in tennis.

I have a savant-like ability to recall what almost every big player wore at each tournament over the last 10+ years, so I hereby nominate myself as curator for this forthcoming exhibit.

* * *

Venus looked relatively sharp in her matches that evening, dropping a close 5-4(4) singles match with American No. 3 Christina McHale, and  playing well in her doubles events with Leander Paes and Rennae Stubbs.  She plays her second WTT match with the Kastles Wednesday night in Philadelphia.

With a WTA ranking of #12 and preparing to play a Grand Slam tournament in her own country, Marion Bartoli should feel pressure coming at her from every angle.

At a recent sit down interview, she showed none of what you would expect from a young lady who is entering her tennis prime. What I found in Marion was a well spoken, intelligent athlete who knows her game, knows what it takes to win, and enjoys every moment of the life she leads.

While her results on clay this spring have been average at best, her impressive run in Strasbourg this week will hopeully give her the confidence she needs to move through the draw in Paris, after second-round losses in Charleston, Stuttgart, Madrid and Rome.

Being the daughter of a doctor, and with reports coming out earlier in the year that she possesses an IQ of 175, it was interesting to hear if Marion thought she was a genius and if there was a Nobel Prize in her future. Marion immediately put these braniac rumors to rest. "The IQ test was a long time ago; I was 12 years old and it's a test all kids in France have to take," Marion added. Marion doesn't think the result would duplicate itself today, as she prefers to pass tests on the tennis court these days.

Bartoli feels she needs to keep getting stonger heading into Roland Garros. "I felt good about my play on hardcourts this spring," she said. Clay is a different story as the points are longer and the speed of the courts change with the conditions.  With an improved serve and one of the best returns in women's tennis, Marion feels she has a chance each time she steps out on the court. 

To get he mind off of tennis, Marion loves to paint and listen to music during her down time. "Painting is just something I do, it's different than tennis, but also similar," she added. Her musical taste is mostly American pop. When asked what she listens to, she said she enjoys Jennifer Lopez and Flo Rida, a rapper from Florida. It's only fitting that one of Flo Rida's hits is "Turn Around", because with her play this week, it looks like Marion has turned around her fotunes on clay as we head into the tournament that is most important to her. If she should win, she'll join Yannick Noah as the only other French-born player to win the French Open in the modern tennis era.