WINSTON-SALEM OPEN: PREVIEW & DAY 1 MEDIA NOTES Sunday, August 23, 2015
Wake Forest University, Winston-Salem, North Carolina, USA | August 23 – 29, 2015 Draw: S-48, D-16 | Prize Money: $616,210 | Surface: Outdoor Hard
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YOUNG GUNS DONALDSON, CHUNG KICK OFF 2015 WINSTON-SALEM OPEN
SPOTLIGHT ON NORTH CAROLINA: The Winston-Salem Open, the final ATP World Tour tournament in the U.S. this year, features 14 of the Top 50 players in the Emirates ATP Rankings, with a potential 15th (World No. 39 Martin Klizan) joining the main draw via qualifying. The tournament, in its fifth year, is based at Wake Forest University, and its Top 4 seeds are all ranked in the Top 20: World No. 11 Gilles Simon, No. 15 Kevin Anderson, No. 19 Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and No. 20 Viktor Troicki. Four Americans are in the main draw (Sam Querrey, Steve Johnson, Donald Young, Jared Donaldson), with as many as four more able to advance through qualifying. Defending champion Lukas Rosol returns and could meet No. 15 seed Jerzy Janowicz in 2R. Last year, Rosol saved two championship points against Janowicz to win the title 3-6, 7-6(3), 7-5.
DAY 1 PREVIEW: There are six main draw singles matches on Sunday’s schedule, including 18- year-old American wild card Jared Donaldson against big-serving Sam Groth of Australia. Groth is up to a career-high No. 53 in the Emirates ATP Rankings. The World No. 153 Donaldson is up 107 spots from his 2014 year-end rank, earning his first four wins on the ATP World Tour at Memphis, Newport, Atlanta and Cincinnati.
Fellow teenager Hyeon Chung, 19, is also in main draw action on Sunday against James Ward of Great Britain. Chung of South Korea is ranked 73rd and has a tour-level record of 7-7 this season, in addition to a 29-7 mark on the ATP Challenger Tour (3 titles). The qualifying tournament concludes on Sunday with four main draw spots on the line and five Americans vying for them.
AMERICANS IN QUALIFYING Sekou Bangoura: 2011 All-American (Florida) looking to play 1st ATP main draw singles match Bjorn Fratangelo: Ranked a career-high No. 106 with a 33-16 ATP Challenger record in 2015 Ryan Harrison: Former No. 43 who reached 2015 Acapulco SF as qualifier (d. No. 10 Dimitrov) Wil Spencer: 2011 & 2012 All-American (Georgia) looking to play in 1st ATP main draw match Frances Tiafoe: 17-year-old ranked a career-high No. 271 after ending 2014 as World No. 1136
SIMON A STRONG NO. 1: Leading the field this week is the top-seeded Simon, who signed on as a wild card on Aug. 19. Simon is currently ranked 11th and has been as high as No. 6 in the world. The 30-year-old Frenchman has won 12 ATP World Tour titles and defeated nine of the Top 10 players in the Emirates ATP Rankings, including No. 1 Novak Djokovic, No. 2 Andy Murray and No. 3 Roger Federer (never played No. 4 Kei Nishikori).
DEFENDING CHAMPION RETURNS: Last year, Rosol took an unorthodox route to the Winston- Salem Open title. Seeded seventh, he received a first-round bye, second-round retirement (d. Harrison 3-6, 2-1 ret) and quarterfinal walkover (d. John Isner). In his three full matches, Rosol needed three sets to beat No. 10 seed Pablo Andujar, No. 9 seed Yen-Hsun Lu and Janowicz. Winston-Salem Open Day 1 – Sunday, August 23, 2015 Page 2 of 5 www.ATPWorldTour.com
ANDERSON TAKES WILD CARD: For the second straight year, Anderson arrives in Winston- Salem as both the No. 2 seed and a wild card entrant. The 6-foot-8 South African is 30-18 this season, reaching finals at Memphis (l. to No. 1 seed Nishikori) and London/Queen’s Club (l. to No. 1 seed Murray). He led World No. 1 and eventual champion Djokovic two sets to none at Wimbledon before falling in the fourth round 6-7(6), 6-7(6), 6-1, 6-4, 7-5.
AUSTRALIAN OPEN FINALISTS IN DRAW: A pair of former Australian Open finalists are back on the hard courts of Winston-Salem this week. No. 3 seed Tsonga and No. 14 seed Marcos Baghdatis each beat three Top 10 players en route to the Australian Open championship match. Tsonga lost to Djokovic in the 2008 final, while Baghdatis fell to Federer in the 2006 final.
DOLGOPOLOV ARRIVES ON FIRE: Unseeded in Winston-Salem, Alexandr Dolgopolov made headlines last week in Cincinnati by becoming the first qualifier in 21 years to reach the Western & Southern Open semi-finals. Dolgopolov defeated World No. 6 Tomas Berdych 6-4, 6-2 in the quarter-finals, then was two points from defeating Djokovic before falling 4-6, 7-6(5), 6-2.
YOUNG GUNS IN WINSTON-SALEM: Dolgopolov’s first-round opponent Thanasi Kokkinakis is one of four teenagers in the Winston-Salem main draw. By Sunday afternoon, there could be five teens in the main draw if Tiafoe defeats Harrison in a final-round qualifying match.
TEENS IN MAIN DRAW Borna Coric, 18: Winston-Salem No. 8 seed beat Nadal, Murray en route to two career ATP SFs Jared Donaldson, 18: Wild card beat Nicolas Mahut in Cincinnati for first ATP Masters 1000 win Hyeon Chung, 19: No. 1 South Korean has won 3 ATP Challenger titles in 5 finals this season Thanasi Kokkinakis, 19: Tied for tour lead by qualifying for 6 ATP events in 2015 (15-1 record)
QUERREY BACK AGAIN: No. 7 seed Sam Querrey has played at the Winston-Salem Open each of the last three seasons, reaching the semi-finals on all three occasions. He’s back in the draw this year and still seeking his first appearance in the tournament final. Following a first-round bye, Querrey will meet either Federico Delbonis or Simone Bolelli in the second round.
FORMER WINSTON-SALEM CHAMPIONS AND FINALISTS:
YEAR WINNER FINALIST Bold = Denotes those in this year’s draw 2014 Lukas Rosol Jerzy Janowicz 2013 Jurgen Melzer Gael Monfils
2012 John Isner Tomas Berdych
2011 John Isner Julien Benneteau
Winston-Salem Open Day 1 – Sunday, August 23, 2015 Page 3 of 5 www.ATPWorldTour.com
FORMER WINSTON-SALEM DOUBLES CHAMPIONS:
YEAR WINNERS Bold = Denotes those in this year’s draw 2014 Juan Sebastian Cabal & Robert Farah 2013 Daniel Nestor & Leander Paes 2012 Santiago Gonzalez & Scott Lipsky 2011 Jonathan Erlich & Andy Ram
WHAT’S AT STAKE?
EMIRATES ATP RANKINGS POINTS AND PRIZE MONEY
W F SF QF R16 R32 R48 SINGLES RANKING POINTS 250 150 90 45 20 10 0 SINGLES PRIZE MONEY ($) 83,000 47,245 27,270 16,050 9,355 5,685 3,460 DOUBLES RANKING POINTS 250 150 90 45 0 — — DOUBLES PRIZE MONEY ($) 34,050 17,900 9,700 5,500 3,250 — —
SEEDS TO WATCH THIS WEEK
SINGLES:
SEED PLAYER RECORD BEST FINISH
1. Gilles Simon (FRA) 0-0 (Debut in 2015) N/A 2. Kevin Anderson (RSA) 1-2 R16 in 2014 3. Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (FRA) 3-1 SF in 2012 4. Viktor Troicki (SRB) 0-1 R32 in 2013 5. Guillermo Garcia-Lopez (ESP) 3-2 QF in 2014 6. Thomaz Bellucci (BRA) 1-2 R32 in 2012 7. Sam Querrey (USA) 10-3 SF in 2012, 2013, 2014 8. Borna Coric (CRO) 0-0 (Debut in 2015) N/A 9. Benoit Paire (FRA) 1-3 R16 in 2013 10. Joao Sousa (POR) 0-2 R32 in 2013, 2014 11. Jiri Vesely (CZE) 0-0 (Debut in 2015) N/A 12. Pablo Andujar (ESP) 1-4 R16 in 2014 13. Steve Johnson (USA) 2-2 R16 in 2013 14. Marcos Baghdatis (CYP) 2-2 QF in 2011 15. Teymuraz Gabashvili (RUS) 0-0 (Debut in 2015) N/A 16. Jerzy Janowicz (POL) 5-1 F in 2014
QUALIFIERS (4): WILDCARDS (4): OLDEST: TBC on Sunday Kevin Anderson (RSA) Tommy Haas – 37 yrs, 4 months Jared Donaldson (USA) Tommy Haas (GER) YOUNGEST: Gilles Simon (FRA) Borna Coric – 18 yrs, 9 months
Winston-Salem Open Day 1 – Sunday, August 23, 2015 Page 4 of 5 www.ATPWorldTour.com
TOP COUNTRY BREAKDOWN (not including qualifiers): USA (4), France (4), Spain (4), Australia (3), Argentina (2), Brazil (2), Czech Republic (2), Great Britain (2), Ukraine (2)
DOUBLES:
SEED PLAYER BEST TOURNAMENT FINISH 1. Lukasz Kubot & Daniel Nestor Debut in 2015 2. Treat Huey & David Marrero Debut in 2015 3. Eric Butorac & Scott Lipsky Debut in 2015 4. Dominic Inglot & Robert Lindstedt 3-2; F 2013
FEDEX ATP HEAD 2 HEADS – In Order of Play
STADIUM
Qualifying Frances Tiafoe (USA) vs Ryan Harrison (USA)
FedEx Head 2 Head: First ATP World Tour meeting
Main Draw Yen-Hsun Lu (TPE) vs Robin Haase (NED)
FedEx Head 2 Head: Haase leads 1-0
2011 Nice (France) Clay R32 Robin Haase 6-3, 6-4
Main Draw Sam Groth (AUS) vs [WC] Jared Donaldson (USA)
FedEx Head 2 Head: First ATP World Tour meeting
Other Meetings: Groth leads 1-0
2014 Dallas CH (U.S.A.) Hard R32 Sam Groth 7-6(6), 6-2
Main Draw Nicolas Mahut (FRA) vs Mikhail Kukushkin (KAZ)
FedEx Head 2 Head: Kukushkin leads 1-0
2014 Roland Garros (France) Clay R128 Mikhail Kukushkin 6-3, 6-7(4), 6-3, 6-4
Other Meeting: Mahut leads 1-0
2008 Bergamo CH (Italy) Hard R16 Nicolas Mahut 7-5, 7-6(5)
Winston-Salem Open Day 1 – Sunday, August 23, 2015 Page 5 of 5 www.ATPWorldTour.com
COURT 2
Qualifying Martin Klizan (SVK) vs Bjorn Fratangelo (USA)
FedEx Head 2 Head: First ATP World Tour meeting
Main Draw Daniel Gimeno-Traver (ESP) vs Diego Schwartzman (ARG)
FedEx Head 2 Head: First ATP World Tour meeting
Other Meeting: Schwartzman leads 1-0
2012 Salinas CH (Ecuador) Clay R32 Diego Schwartzman 6-3, 6-3
Main Draw James Ward (GBR) vs Hyeon Chung (KOR)
FedEx Head 2 Head: First ATP World Tour meeting
COURT 3
Qualifying Sekou Bangoura (USA) vs Pierre-Hugues Herbert (FRA)
FedEx Head 2 Head: First ATP World Tour meeting
Main Draw Santiago Giraldo (COL) vs Steve Darcis (BEL)
FedEx Head 2 Head: Giraldo leads 2-1
2010 Estoril (Portugal) Clay R32 Santiago Giraldo 6-4 ret 2012 Munich (Germany) Clay R32 Santiago Giraldo 6-4, 6-3 2012 London Olympics (Great Britain) Grass R32 Steve Darcis 6-7(4), 6-4, 6-4
COURT 4
Qualifying Wil Spencer (USA) vs Marco Cecchinato (ITA)
FedEx Head 2 Head: First ATP World Tour meeting