Sandwiched in between the Cincinnati Masters and U.S. Open, and this year overlapping for a couple of days with the U.S. Open mixed doubles event, the Winston-Salem Open will largely be overlooked.
However, by ATP 250 standards it is a tournament worth watching. A field of 48 features Stefanos Tsitsipas, Tallon Griekspoor, Gabriel Diallo, Lorenzo Sonego, Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard, Sebastian Korda, Borna Coric, Pablo Carreno Busta, and Botic van de Zandschulp. Tsitsipas, the top seed, was a late entry as he seeks matches–and confidence–in advance of the season’s final Grand Slam. Korda has been sidelined with a stress fracture in his right shin and has not played since Roland Garros.
This event will have a local Wake Forest flavor, at least in the opening round. Stefan Dostanic and D.K. Suresh, who led the Demon Deacons to the NCAA title this spring as their No. 1 and No. 2 singles players, are both in the main draw. Dostanic got a wild card (he also has one for the U.S. Open), while Suresh upset Alejandro Tabilo in the final round of qualifying.
Tsitsipas could face Marcos Giron in the last 16 and Arnaldi in the quarterfinals. The top half of the draw also features Diallo, Coric, Mpetshi Perricard, and Jake Fearnley.
As is always the case in a week before a major, just about anything could happen in Winston-Salem. The bottom half of the bracket is especially wide open; there aren’t even any obvious favorites on paper. Griekspoor has been struggling, Korda has not played in three months, and Sonego is wildly inconsistent. If the Italian brings something close to his best, you have to like his chances at the defending champion.
Quarterfinal picks: Matteo Arnaldi over Stefanos Tsitsipas, Gabriel Diallo over Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard, Aleksandar Kovacevic over Nuno Borges, and Lorenzo Sonego over Roberto Bautista Agut
Semifinals: Diallo over Arnaldi and Sonego over Kovacevic
Final: Diallo over Sonego
who ya got?
I have Diallo winning too. Beating Borges in the final .
Sonego and Tsitsi in the semis.
Arnaldi and RBA going few rounds as well.
I also had Diallo over Sonego in final, Arnaldi and Majchrzak in semis
Borges out… bad pick of mine
always tough to predict the week before a slam
Yeah, also Borges hasnt won a match lately didnt see that.
Not even a surprise anymore Tsitsi lost , though Bu is v good .
Sonego nearly went out to a 400th ranked player.
Monterry the week before a Slam :dunno: , it was far better a tournament in its own right in the spring .
Dostanic is way better than 400th. He is ranked low because he played college instead of pro tournaments.