WINSTON-SALEM OPEN: DAY 2 MEDIA NOTES Monday, August 24, 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 ATP Info: Tournament Info: ATP PR & Marketing: www.ATPWorldTour.com www.winstonsalemopen.com Greg Sharko: [email protected] Twitter: @ATPWorldTour @WSOpen #WSOpen Press Room: +1 913 953 0094 Facebook: facebook.com/ATPWorldTour facebook.com/WinstonSalemOpen DEFENDING CHAMP ROSOL, CINCY SEMI-FINALIST DOLGOPOLOV IN ACTION STARS ON STADIUM, YOUNG GUNS ON COURT 2: Day 2 of the Winston-Salem Open on Monday features 10 first-round and four second-round matches, kicking off with defending champion Lukas Rosol versus 2014 Roland Garros semifinalist Ernests Gulbis. Also in action on Stadium Court are former World No. 2 Tommy Haas, No. 13 seed Steve Johnson and Cincinnati semi-finalist Alexandr Dolgopolov, who opens his Winston-Salem campaign against 19-year-old Australian Thanasi Kokkinakis. Three other teenagers – No. 8 seed Borna Coric, qualifier Frances Tiafoe and Hyeon Chung – are playing Monday on Court 2. 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. Isner). In his three full matches, Rosol needed three sets to beat No. 10 seed Pablo Andujar, No. 9 seed Yen-Hsun Lu and Jerzy Janowicz. GULBIS SHOWING SIGNS: Rosol’s opponent Gulbis is only 14 months removed from cracking the Top 10 of the Emirates ATP Rankings. But after winning 41 matches last season, the Latvian started 2015 with a 1-11 record and dipped as low as No. 87. Two weeks ago, however, Gulbis qualified and won three main draw matches at the ATP Masters 1000 event in Montréal before falling in three sets to World No. 1 Novak Djokovic in the quarter-finals. Along the way, Gulbis beat Rosol. Gulbis has a 7-7 match record in the past three months (since May 18). HAAS DEBUTING AT 37: Playing in Winston-Salem for the first time is Haas, a wild card entrant who missed more than a year following arthroscopic shoulder surgery. The German returned to the ATP World Tour in June and is 2-5 this season, defeating No. 59-ranked Mikhail Kukushkin 6-4, 7-5 at Stuttgart and No. 86-ranked Dusan Lajovic at Wimbledon. DOLGOPOLOV ARRIVES ON FIRE: Unseeded in Winston-Salem, 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 on Saturday. Two days later, he meets Kokkinakis in a first-round match at the Winston-Salem Open. The No. 1 Ukrainian jumped from No. 66 to No. 39 in the Emirates ATP Rankings after his second semi-final (Nottingham) of the season. Winston-Salem Open Day 2 – Monday, August 24, 2015 Page 2 of 7 www.ATPWorldTour.com YOUNG GUNS IN WINSTON-SALEM: Dolgopolov’s first-round opponent Kokkinakis is one of five teenagers in the Winston-Salem main draw. TEENS IN MAIN DRAW (1-1 on Sunday) Frances Tiafoe, 17: Qualifier seeking first tour-level win Monday against James Duckworth Borna Coric, 18: No. 8 seed beat Rafael Nadal, Andy Murray en route to two career ATP SFs Jared Donaldson, 18: Wild card let two match points go by in 1st-round loss Sunday to Sam Groth Hyeon Chung, 19: No. 1 South Korean defeated James Ward 6-7(7), 6-4, 6-3 in 1st round Sunday Thanasi Kokkinakis, 19: Tied for tour lead by qualifying for 6 ATP events in 2015 (15-1 record) TIAFOE COMING FULL CIRCLE: On Aug. 9, the 17-year-old Tiafoe won a five-set final over Stefan Kozlov to capture the US Boys’ 18s National Championship, earning a wild card into the US Open. Not needing to play qualifying at the US Open this week opened Tiafoe’s schedule up for qualifying at the Winston-Salem Open instead. Tiafoe won three matches this past weekend to qualify for the first time into an ATP World Tour tournament. He takes on Aussie James Duckworth on Monday. Here is Getting to Know about Tiafoe’s rise this season… - Reached career-high of No. 271 on Aug. 17 after ending 2014 as World No. 1136 - One of three 17-year-olds in the Top 300 Emirates ATP Rankings – No. 198 Andrey Rublev, No. 249 Duckhee Lee, No. 275 Tiafoe - Has won 41 pro matches overall this season (ITF Futures, ATP Challenger, Qualifying) - Seeking 1st ATP World Tour win on Monday in 5th tour-level match of young career - 1 of 4 ATP losses came to Duckworth 6-7(5), 7-5, 6-2 in May (Nice 1R) - Earned Roland Garros WC after winning 10 ATP Challenger main draw matches - Began 2015 by winning 4 qualifying matches at ITF Futures event in Sunrise, Fla. - Captured first pro title overall in March at ITF Futures event in Bakersfield, Calif. TEENAGE MATCH WINS LEADERS: No. 8 seed Borna Coric leads all teenagers with 20 wins in 2015. Here is a look at the teenagers with multiple match wins (ATP World Tour, Grand Slam only): W L Borna Coric 20 21 Alexander Zverev 13 13 Thanasi Kokkinakis 11 14 Hyeon Chung 8 7 Andrey Rublev 5 7 Nick Kyrgios+ 5 4 Jared Donaldson 4 6 Elias Ymer 3 7 Yoshihito Nishioka 2 3 + Turned 20 on April 27 (18-14 overall this season) Winston-Salem Open Day 2 – Monday, August 24, 2015 Page 3 of 7 www.ATPWorldTour.com MONDAY FEDEX ATP HEAD 2 HEADS – In Order of Play by Court STADIUM Lukas Rosol (CZE) vs Ernests Gulbis (LAT) FedEx Head 2 Head: Rosol leads 2-1 2011 St. Petersburg (Russia) Hard R32 Lukas Rosol 6-3 6-4 2015 Wimbledon (Great Britain) Grass R128 Lukas Rosol 7-6(2) 6-3 7-6(4) 2015 ATP Masters 1000 Montréal (Canada) Hard R32 Ernests Gulbis 6-2 5-7 6-3 Other Meeting: Gulbis leads 1-0 2007 Sarajevo CH (Bosnia & Herzegovina) Hard R32 Ernests Gulbis 7-6(5), 6-3 Rosol FastFacts 2015 Highlights: QF(2): Bucharest (l. to Garcia-Lopez); Munich (l. to Murray) YTD W-L: 12-23 (5-11 on hard) YTD Titles: 0 / Career Titles: 2 Date of Birth: July 24, 1985 Emirates ATP Ranking: 86 Winston-Salem W-L (Best Result): 4-2 (Champion – 2014) Defending champion won 2nd career ATP World Tour title in Winston-Salem, saving 2 championship points (d. Janowicz in F). Could meet again in 2R Reached career-high No. 26 in Emirates ATP Rankings on Sept. 22, 2014 Lost to Gulbis on Aug. 12 in 2R at ATP Masters 1000 Montréal after beating him at Wimbledon. Matched best result at major by reaching 2015 Roland Garros 3R (d. No. 19 seed Bautista Agut) Burst onto scene at 2012 Wimbledon by stunning No. 2 seed Nadal 6-7(9), 6-4, 6-4, 2-6, 6-4 in 2R. Finished last year a year-end best No. 31, winning a career-high 29 matches. Gulbis FastFacts 2015 Highlights: QF(2): Nice (l. to Thiem); ATP World Tour Masters 1000 Montreal (l. to Djokovic) YTD W-L: 8-18 (4-8 on hard) YTD Titles: 0 / Career Titles: 6 Date of Birth: August 30, 1988 Emirates ATP Ranking: 67 Winston-Salem W-L (Best Result): 2-1 (3R - 2012) Qualified at 2012 Winston-Salem and reached Round of 16 (d. Anderson, l. to Granollers). Peaked at No. 10 in Emirates ATP Rankings on June 9, 2014 after reaching Roland Garros SF. Defeated No. 4 Federer and No. 6 Berdych en route to (l. to Djokovic). Qualified and won 3 main draw matches at 2015 ATP Masters 1000 Montréal (l. to Djokovic). Started 2015 with 1-11 record and fell to No. 87 in Emirates ATP Rankings before Montréal run. Has a 7-7 match record in past three months (since May 18) Finished 2014 in the Top 20 for the first time at No. 13, winning a career-high 41 matches. Winston-Salem Open Day 2 – Monday, August 24, 2015 Page 4 of 7 www.ATPWorldTour.com Alexandr Dolgopolov (UKR) vs Thanasi Kokkinakis (AUS) FedEx Head 2 Head: 1st Meeting on ATP World Tour Dolgopolov FastFacts 2015 Highlights: SF(2): Nottingham (l. to Querrey); ATP World Tour Masters 1000 Cincinnati (l. to Djokovic); QF(2): Delray Beach (l. to Young); Acapulco (l. to Nishikori) YTD W-L: 25-19 (16-11 on hard) YTD Titles: 0 / Career Titles: 2 Date of Birth: November 7, 1988 Emirates ATP Ranking: 39 Winston-Salem W-L (Best Result): 7-3 (SF - 2013) Making fourth appearance at Winston-Salem, reaching SF in 2013 (l. to Monfils) and QF in 2011-12 Last week became 1st qualifier in SF of ATP Masters 1000 Cincinnati since David Wheaton in 1994 (d. No. 6 Berdych, l. to Djokovic in three sets). Afterwards, jumped 27 spots from No. 66 to No. 39 in Emirates ATP Rankings. Also SF at ATP Masters 1000 Indian Wells last year (d. No. 1 Nadal). In June, advanced to semi-finals on grass in Nottingham (l. to Querrey) With 25 wins thus far in 2015, Ukrainian has eclipsed 20-win mark for sixth straight season. Enjoyed career-high ranking of No. 13 in Emirates ATP Rankings on Jan.