Since its inception in 2011, the Winston-Salem Open has always been the final stop on tour prior to the U.S. Open.
That will once again be the case in 2023, when the top players in the world go straight from Cincinnati to New York while others make the southeast trek to North Carolina. Despite being sandwiched in between a Masters 1000 tournament and a Grand Slam, Winston-Salem–as usual–boasts a relatively strong field. Borna Coric and Tallon Griekspoor are the top seeds ahead of Sebastian Korda, Jiri Lehecka, Arthur Fils, Emil Ruusuvuori, and others.
Among the unseeded contingent are players such as Dominic Thiem, Brandon Nakashima, Jack Draper, Wimbledon quarterfinalist Roman Safiullin, and Cincinnati quarterfinalist Max Purcell.
Coric could face Marcos Giron in the third round, Thiem or Safiullin in the quarterfinals, and either Laslo Djere, Aleksandar Vukic, or Alex Michelsen in the semis. Djere is the No. 4 seed in Winston-Salem and his quarter of the bracket is predictably wide open. Vukic, Michelsen, Sebastian Baez, and Quentin Halys will look to take advantage.
A much tougher bottom half of the bracket features Griekspoor, Korda, Lehecka, Fils, and Ruusuvuori. Griekspoor vs. Ruusuvuori is a potential third-round showdown even though it is a matchup worthy of an ATP 250 final. Korda is on a collision course with Marton Fucsovics for the third round, while Fils could get Nakashima right away and then run into fellow Frenchman Richard Gasquet in the last 16.
Click here for the full PDF draw on the ATP website.
who ya got?
Thought my picks for this were barking, but to my surprise, back hand pass has gone for the same! Korda if you’re interested! A very long shot indeed, but not convinced by Coric.