Murray Could Face Shapovalov In Second-Round Winston-Salem Blockbuster

Former World No. 1 Andy Murray accepted a wild card into the singles draw at the Winston-Salem Open. But the 45-time tour-level titlist will have his work cut out for him if he is going to lift his first ATP Tour singles trophy since 2017 Dubai.

The Scot will open against reigning Auckland titlist and 2018 Australian Open quarter-finalist Tennys Sandgren in Murray’s second singles match since undergoing hip resurfacing surgery after the Australian Open. The 32-year-old lost against Richard Gasquet in straight sets in his return to the discipline this week at the Western & Southern Open.

If Murray advanced, he will likely face a series of #NextGenATP challenges. His second-round opponent would be 20-year-old Canadian Denis Shapovalov, who is the second seed. It would be their first FedEx ATP Head2Head meeting.

Also in their section is in-form #NextGenATP Serbian Miomir Kecmanovic, the No. 13 seed. Kecmanovic beat Felix Auger-Aliassime and reigning Nitto ATP Finals champion Alexander Zverev in Cincinnati. The Antalya finalist could play fellow #NextGenATP star Alexei Popyrin of Australia in the second round.

Besides Murray, there is another former Top 5 player in the field: former World No. 4 Tomas Berdych, who received a wild card. The Czech, a 13-time ATP Tour champion, will be competing for just the second time since the BNP Paribas Open at Indian Wells in March.

Frenchman Benoit Paire is the top seed at this ATP 250 tournament, where he will try to win his third ATP Tour title of the season. The 30-year-old will play Indian Prajnesh Gunneswaran or German Cedrik-Marcel Stebe in the second round.

The only former champion in the singles draw is Spaniard Pablo Carreno Busta, who won the title in 2016. He is in Paire’s quarter of the draw and will play Romanian Marius Copil or Slovak Martin Klizan in his second-round match.

Did You Know?
Five of the Top 8 players in the ATP Race To Milan are seeded in Winston-Salem.