Approach Shots: Isner, Berdych withdraw to focus on U.S. Open

“Approach Shots” is Ricky’s weekly look at what’s ahead on the ATP Tour.

Fans never know what to expect in weeks leading up to Grand Slams, and the same goes for tournament organizers. John Isner and Tomas Berdych, the 2012 Winston-Salem finalists, were both entered in the 2013 installment only to pull out on Monday. Their withdrawals could not have come as a huge surprise, as Isner reached the Cincinnati final and Berdych advanced to the semis. Given Monday’s developments, the Winston-Salem title is completely up for grabs and it will go to a first-time winner of the event (Isner triumphed in each of the first two years).

Winston-Salem Open

Where: Winston-Salem, North Carolina
Surface: Hard
Prize money: $575,250
Points: 250

Top seed: Andreas Seppi
2012 champion: John Isner (not playing)

Draw analysis: When Isner and Berdych were still in the field, this was one of the most lopsided draws of the year. Both landed in the top half of the bracket, but now that half is wide open. Benoit Paire and Sam Querrey are the only Top 8 seeds remaining and they have difficult paths to the title match. Paire opens with James Blake on Tuesday while Querrey is already through to the third round but will next go up against either Jarkko Nieminen or Mardy Fish. This is also a big opportunity for lucky losers Joao Sousa and Denis Kudla. Sousa will face Alex Bogomolov before possibly meeting the winner of an enticing second-round showdown between Dmitry Tursunov and David Goffin. Kudla takes on a slumping Ricardas Berankis and his nearest seed is an out-of-form Martin Klizan.

Once the laughingstock of the tournament, the bottom half is still largely intact. Seeds Lukas Rosol and Pablo Andujar are already gone, but Andreas Seppi, Fernando Verdasco, Gael Monfils, Juan Monaco, and Tommy Robredo all look like legitimate title contenders. Alexandr Dolgopolov is also there, but recent results do not indicate that he can be a real factor in Winston-Salem. The draw was not particularly kind to Monfils and Robredo, who could run into each other as early as the third round. Seppi and Verdasco have more favorable roads to what could be a semifinal collision on Friday (the event ends on Saturday due to the U.S. Open beginning on Monday).

Second-round upset alert: James Blake over (5) Benoit Paire. This obviously could go either way, as you never know exactly what you are going to get from these enigmas on any given day. To say Paire had one of his bad days in the Cincinnati first round would be an understatement, as some bizarre antics contributed to a straight-set defeat. Blake upset Jerzy Janowicz in straights only to flame out to Tursunov in the second round. Naturally, the 33-year-old American went straight to Winston-Salem after Cincinnati, but Paire flew home to France in the meantime to get some tests done on what appeared to a back issue during his loss to Davydenko. An edge in confidence and home-court advantage may propel Blake to a victory on Tuesday.

Hot: Tommy Robredo, Dmitry Tursunov, David Goffin

Cold: Sam Querrey, Fernando Verdasco, Alexandr Dolgopolov, Ricardas Berankis, Mardy Fish

Quarterfinal predictions: Jarkko Nieminen over Martin Klizan, Dmitry Tursunov over James Blake, Tommy Robredo over Fernando Verdasco, and Andreas Seppi over Juan Monaco

Semifinals: Nieminen over Tursunov and Robredo over Seppi

Final: Robredo over Nieminen

Comments and your own predictions are appreciated!