Everywhere he went, ATP World Tour Executive Chairman and President Chris Kermode heard the same thing on Monday at the Winston-Salem Open.
“Every player comes up and says, ‘What an amazing event. It’s so friendly. Loads of practice courts. Good facilities.’ So no wonder it won the best 250 award on tour. I can quite see why it won. It’s brilliant,” Kermode said.
The Winston-Salem Open, along with the If Stockholm Open, was voted by players as the best ATP World Tour 250 Tournament in 2016. Kermode attended the tournament for the first time on Monday to help officials celebrate the honour.
“It’s amazing. I arrived and I had no idea what to expect, and then I come here and see this amazing university setup, incredible football arena that we’re now looking over at,” Kermode said.
The tournament, in its seventh year, is hosted at Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. The university’s tennis complex features 11 courts available for practice throughout the day. Players also have opportunities to work out on campus, including on the football field, which is adjacent to the Wake Forest Tennis Complex.
“It’s established itself, put roots in the ground here,” Kermode said. “It’s now an event that people want to come and win, which is fantastic and that’s a huge testament to everyone who’s worked on this event.”
Read More: Fritz Leads #NextGenATP Success In Winston-Salem
#NextGenATP Taylor Fritz was slipping and nearly out of the Winston-Salem Open on Monday evening.
The American had dropped five consecutive games to Tunisia’s Malek Jaziri and risked going down a set and a double break to the 33-year-old veteran and 2015 Winston-Salem Open semi-finalist.
But Fritz erased four break points in that 1-2 game in the second set, and the hold energised his play. The 19 year old evened the match and earned a crucial break in the decider to serve out the contest and advance 4-6, 6-4 6-3 in two hours and three minutes.
Fritz, a wild-card entry, hit 12 aces and had success with his serve-forehand combination throughout the match, especially in the latter stages. The 6’4” right-hander hit 33 winners to 37 unforced errors.
Earlier this month, Fritz reached his first ATP World Tour quarter-final of the season at the Abierto Mexicano de Tenis Mifel presentado por Cinemex in Los Cabos before falling to eventual finalist and #NextGenATP Aussie Thanasi Kokkinakis. In Winston-Salem, Fritz will next face 10th seed Yuichi Sugita of Japan. Sugita is coming off his first ATP World Tour Masters 1000 quarter-final last week at the Western & Southern Open in Cincinnati.
#NextGenATP Russian Andrey Rublev won 92 per cent of his first-serve points (22/24) and feasted on Steve Darcis’ second serve (19/29) to beat the Belgian 6-4, 6-4. Rublev will next play 13th seed and #NextGenATP Korean Hyeon Chung.
Fritz (14th), Rublev (sixth) and Chung (eighth) will look to climb in the Emirates ATP Race To Milan this week. The top seven in the Race will qualify for the inaugural Next Gen ATP Finals, to be held 7-11 November in Milan, with the eighth player chosen by wild card.
See Who’s Leading The Emirates ATP Race To Milan
Fritz’s compatriot Donald Young improved to 5-5 at Winston-Salem lifetime with a 6-4, 6-2 win against Brazilian Rogerio Dutra Silva. Young will meet #NextGenATP Croatian Borna Coric in the second round.
“Any win at this level before the [US] Open builds confidence so every win I get I feel a lot better about myself,” Young said.
Julien Benneteau, 2011 finalist, won the battle of Frenchmen 6-3, 6-2 against Pierre-Hugues Herbert and will next face second seed and defending champion Pablo Carreno Busta. “He has a very good first serve, and he can be very dangerous with his groundstrokes,” Benneteau said of his countryman. “I’m happy with the way I played today.”
Cypriot Marcos Baghdatis punched the first ticket into the third round with a 6-2, 7-6(3) victory against 16th seed Jiri Vesely of the Czech Republic.
#NextGenATP Jared Donaldson breaks the American mould.
The 20-year-old Donaldson, 20, who lives in Irvine, California, is racing up the Emirates ATP Rankings in 2017, enjoying a career-high position at No. 51 this week. He started 2017 at No. 105, playing a mix of ATP Challenger and ATP World Tour events for the first four months of the season.
Now he is doing damage only in the big leagues, and he is doing it in an unconventional way for an American prodigy.
An Infosys ATP Beyond The Numbers analysis reveals that, in general, American players are more proficient on the serving side of the game than returning. For example, there are currently four American players in the Top 26 of the Infosys ATP Stats Serve LEADERBOARDS, powered by Infosys Nia Data. But no Americans are in the Top 30 on the Return LEADERBOARD.
Indeed, the five highest-ranked American players in the Emirates ATP Rankings all perform better on the serving side of the equation than returning.
Who is the best American returner for the past 52 weeks? It’s Donaldson, who is currently the sixth-highest ranked American player overall. It’s quite an accomplishment to be the best performing returner in the United States and not yet be ranked in the Top 50 of the Emirates ATP Rankings.
Top Six American Players: Infosys Serve & Return LEADERBOARDS Ratings, powered by Infosys Nia Data
Emirates ATP Ranking |
American Player |
Serve Rating |
Return Rating |
14 |
John Isner |
1 |
80 |
17 |
Jack Sock |
26 |
56 |
21 |
Sam Querrey |
15 |
38 |
44 |
Ryan Harrison |
43 |
64 |
46 |
Steve Johnson |
23 |
70 |
51 |
Jared Donaldson |
59 |
32 |
Donaldson’s Infosys Return Rating of No. 32 in 2017 elevates him higher in this specific category than well-recognized players, such as Lucas Pouille (34), Kyle Edmund (35), Stan Wawrinka (40), Juan Martin Del Potro (41), and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (45).
Donaldson scored one of the biggest wins of his career last week at the Western & Southern Open in Cincinnati, defeating No. 14 Roberto Bautista Agut 7-6(5), 6-3 in the opening round. His break-out victory was 12 months ago at the US Open, where he defeated No. 14 David Goffin 4-6, 7-5, 6-4, 6-0 in the first round, and that was after Donaldson won three rounds of qualifying to make the main draw.
Donaldson is doing very well in 2017 breaking serve right after he has been broken, speaking to the maturity of his emerging game. Donaldson is breaking back 20 per cent (17/85) of the time, which is more than higher-ranked Americans Steve Johnson, who is at 14 per cent (11/76), and Ryan Harrison, who is at just 10 per cent (8/79).
When Donaldson gets ahead 0/30 in his opponent’s service games in 2017, he is breaking serve 63 per cent (37/59) of the time. At 30/40, with an opportunity to break serve, he is breaking 48 per cent (40/84) of the time. These numbers are already impressive and will continue to inch up as he gains more experience on tour.
Donaldson’s solid run in Cincinnati last week elevated him five spots to third place in the Emirates ATP Race To Milan, ahead of fellow Americans Frances Tiafoe (nine), Ernesto Escobedo (10), Taylor Fritz (14), and Tommy Paul (16). The top seven players in the Race will qualify to compete at the inaugural Next Gen ATP Finals, to be held 7-11 November in Milan. The eighth player will be determined by wild card.
Donaldson’s days of flying under the radar are about to end.
Britain’s Kyle Edmund is through to the second round of the Winston-Salem Open with a straight-set win over Italy’s Thomas Fabbiano in North Carolina.
The 22-year-old British number two, who came through two rounds of qualifying, beat world number 81 Fabbiano 6-2 6-3.
Edmund, who is ranked 45th in the world, will play 15th seed Daniil Medvedev of Russia in the next round.
The tournament is the final warm-up event before the US Open, which starts in New York on 28 August.
Rafael Nadal’s return to the top of the world rankings is “as impressive as any” of the 15-time Grand Slam winner’s achievements, says men’s tennis chief Chris Kermode.
The Spaniard, 31, replaced Britain’s Andy Murray as world number one on Monday – the first time since July 2014 he has held top spot.
It comes despite dealing with a series of knee and wrist injuries since first holding top ranking in 2008.
“It is unprecedented,” said Kermode.
“Rafa has been setting records throughout his remarkable career and this one is as impressive as any. It shows incredible dedication and longevity,” the ATP president added.
Nadal’s recent rise has been helped by injuries to rivals such as Murray, who is recovering from a hip problem.
A back injury for 19-time Grand Slam winner Roger Federer and an elbow problem for 12-time Slam winner Novak Djokovic have similarly helped him in his rise.
And Nadal, who previously spent 141 weeks as world number one, said: “Being number one after all the things that I have been going through the last couple of years is something unbelievable.”
He later told fans on social media: “Today is a special day, going back to number one, I’m very happy.”
The life of an ATP World Tour player can become pretty routine. Wake up. Eat. Practise. Eat. Stretch. Workout. Toss in a match here and there, and you have the life of a player when he’s competing at a tournament.
But on Monday at the Winston-Salem Open, players were happy to welcome a historic distraction to their daily routine: the eclipse. Winston-Salem, North Carolina, was close to the path of the total solar eclipse, which cut through the continental U.S., from Oregon on the west coast to South Carolina on the east coast, and players, with the help of tournament officials, made sure to take in the once-in-a-100-year phenomenon.
They wore special eclipse glasses and stared into the sky, gawking at the moon’s ability to shield the sun. Tournament officials purchased about 200 sets of special eclipse glasses so players, ball kids and officials could safely view the event.
“It’s cool. It’s something you don’t get to see every day, with barely seeing any of the sun. We only had 95 per cent coverage of the sun, and it’s crazy how much, with five per cent showing, can still brighten the day,” said Steve Johnson.
The American watched the eclipse from the tournament’s centre court, along with other players and ATP World Tour Executive Chairman & President Chris Kermode and ATP World Tour Chief Player Officer Ross Hutchins.
Eclipse photo credit: Bryan Pollard
“You get a chance to be a part of history. You’ll always know where you were when you saw the eclipse in 2017 here at the tournament,” Johnson said. “Hopefully everybody enjoyed it and was safe.”
Monday marked the first time since 1918 that a total solar eclipse has gone coast to coast in the U.S.
“It was a special moment,” said Pierre-Hugues Herbert, who remembered wearing eclipse glasses when he was a child in Europe. “If it happens once in 100 years, it’s just amazing to be a part of, to live this.”
“It was a great experience,” said Joao Sousa of Portugal. “I think being a part of this activity here at the tournament, it’s a moment of history… I’m not sure the next time I will have the chance to see this in my life. I hope it’s not my last one but as I said, it was a great experience and I really enjoyed it.”
The tournament warned players of the eclipse ahead of time, posting a “WSO Eclipse Day” notice in the players lounge. “Dear Players & Guests: Today there will be a solar eclipse lasting from 1:12PM – 4:03PM. During this time when the sun’s natural light is blocked, all courts will have the lights turned on…”
Almost everyone participated in the event, even Donald Young and Rogerio Dutra Silva, who took the court at 3 p.m. for their first-round match.
“We’re happy,” said Andre Sa. “Something different about our day. Gets you out of your comfort zone… It was nice show by nature. We loved it.”
Former world number one Victoria Azarenka will miss the US Open because of an “ongoing family situation”.
The Belarusian only returned to tennis in June after giving birth to her son, Leo, in December.
Azarenka, 28, separated from his father in July and last week she issued a statement saying she could only play in the tournament “if I leave Leo behind”.
Misa Eguchi, of Japan, moves into the main draw for the tournament, which starts on 28 August.
“I am sadly unable to compete in this year’s US Open due to my ongoing family situation that I am working through,” Azarenka said on Monday.
“While I will dearly miss being in New York and playing in one of my favourite tournaments where I have enjoyed some of the best moments in my career, I am already looking forward to being back next year.”
Earlier this month Azarenka pulled out of the Cincinnati Open because of “a family matter”.
The Australian Open champion in 2012 and 2013, she reached the final in New York in the same two years.
She was knocked out in the fourth round at Wimbledon this year.
The Tennis Integrity Unit is assessing Alexandr Dolgopolov’s defeat by Thiago Monteiro at the Winston-Salem Open as some bookmakers suspended their markets because of suspicious betting patterns.
Brazilian Monteiro beat Ukrainian world number 63 Dolgopolov 6-3 6-3 in the ATP Tour match on Sunday.
The odds shifted in favour of Monteiro, ranked 114, leading up to the match.
“The TIU was made aware of concerns over betting patterns during the match,” it said.
“As with all match alerts, the TIU will assess, make a judgement and take appropriate action on the information received through its co-operative agreements with betting operators.”
Dolgopolov, 28, was the favourite for the hard-court tie, but an increase in money being placed on Monteiro, 23, reversed the odds, leading to several bookmakers to stop taking bets on the first-round match.
Former top-20 player Dolgopolov, who lost his first meeting with Monteiro on clay earlier this year, failed to create a break-point chance on the Brazilian’s serve as he was beaten in 55 minutes.
“I can confirm we suspended the match [betting] due to the suspicious moves in prices pre-match,” said a spokesperson for betting firm Ladbrokes.
“This was flagged to relevant authorities right away.”
The TIU, which was set up to police the sport, has a match alert policy that states “every alert received is assessed” and also stresses that “an alert on its own is not evidence of match-fixing”.
It also lists potential other reasons to explain unusual betting patterns, including “incorrect odds-setting, well-informed betting, player fitness, fatigue and form, playing conditions and personal circumstances.”
An independent review panel was set up in 2016 following a BBC and BuzzFeed News investigation that uncovered suspected illegal betting in tennis.
BBC tennis correspondent Russell Fuller
The odds shifted quite dramatically away from Dolgopolov and towards Monteiro in the hours before the start.
It is unusual for the TIU to comment directly on a match so soon after it has been played, but they do now list the number of match alerts they receive from the betting companies in a quarterly report.
There is still no firm publication date, meanwhile, for the interim report of the Independent Review Panel.