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The Winston-Salem Open is the final tournament for men to fine-tune their preparations before the US Open. The ATP 250 event will be held from August 21-27.
2020 US Open champion Dominic Thiem and 2017 ATP Finals winner Grigor Dimitrov are among the star attractions of the tournament. The latter is also the top seed in the tournament, followed by Botic van de Zandschulp, Holger Rune and Maxime Cressy.
There were quite a few withdrawals as Frances Tiafoe, Tommy Paul, Pablo Carreno Busta and Alexander Bublik, among others, pulled out due to various reasons. Nevertheless, with a host of top 60 players in the draw, the tournament promises some exciting matches throughout the week. Here's all the information you need to know about the 2022 Winston-Salem Open:
What is the Winston-Salem Open?
The tournament began in 1981 as an exhibition event in Long Island and remained so until 1989. From 1990 onwards, it officially became a part of the ATP tour. Stefan Edberg defeated Goran Ivanisevic to win the inaugural edition. The tournament was moved to New Haven in 2005, and it remained there until 2010.
Since 2011, the event has been held at its current venue in Winston-Salem. The tournament currently features a 48 player draw with 16 seeds. All seeded players receive a first-round bye.
Grand Slam champions Ivan Lendl, Lleyton Hewitt and Daniil Medvedev, among others, have won the event in the past.
Venue
The tournament will take place at Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, United States.
Players
Grigor Dimitrov leads the pack as the top seed. He could face either Dominic Thiem or J.J. Wolf in the second round. The 2020 US Open champion is playing his first hardcourt tournament of the year. After a slow start to his comeback, he has found some success on clay and will be aiming to replicate it here as well.
Rising young star Jack Draper and defending champion Ilya Ivashka are also in this section of the draw. Dimitrov will have to go through both of them to reach the semifinals. Holger Rune, Lorenzo Musetti and veteran Richard Gasquet are other players to watch for in this part of the draw.
Botic van de Zandschulp and Maxime Cressy headline the bottom half of the draw. Thanasi Kokkinakis, Nikoloz Basilashvili and Lorenzo Sonego are some of the players who could possibly make a deep run here. 2018 Australian Open semifinalist Kyle Edmund, who's on the comeback trail after an extended injury break, is also in the mix.
Schedule
The qualifying rounds will take place on August 20 and 21, with first-round matches also commencing on August 21. The quarterfinals, semifinals and final are to be contested on Thursday, Friday and Saturday respectively.
The official tournament schedule can be accessed here.
Prize Money
The total prize money for this year's edition is $731,935. The winner will walk away with a cheque worth $100,475 along with 250 ranking points. Here's a detailed breakdown of the prize money and ranking points:
Where to watch
Viewers in the US, UK, Australia and Canada can watch the Winston-Salem Open live on the following channels and sites:
USA: All matches will be broadcast on Tennis Channel.
UK: Fans in the UK can watch the proceedings live on Amazon Prime Video.
Australia: All matches will be telecast on beIN Sports.
Canada: Viewers in Canada can watch all the matches on TSN.
