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It is time for the final warm-up tournament before the US Open. The ATP tour travels to North Carolina this week for the 2021 Winston-Salem Open, scheduled to begin on 22 August.
This year, no top 10 player has taken a detour from Cincinnati to Winston-Salem on the road to New York. Defending champion Hubert Hurkacz and 2018 winner Daniil Medvedev, both of whom saw their careers skyrocket after their wins at Winston-Salem, will not be returning to the tournament this year.
But that doesn't mean the ATP 250 event has no star power. Headlining the event will be three-time Major winner Andy Murray, who has been given a wildcard, and the ever-enigmatic Nick Kyrgios.
Other big names include top seed and Olympic bronze medalist Pablo Carreno Busta (who won the tournament in 2016), former top 10 player David Goffin and former US Open champion Marin Cilic. There are also veterans Richard Gasquet and Gilles Simon, young guns Frances Tiafoe, Lorenzo Musetti, Emil Ruusuvuori and Carlos Alcaraz, and three of the tour's biggest entertainers in Benoit Paire, Corentin Moutet and Alexander Bublik.
With that in mind, let's have a look at how the draw at the Winston-Salem Open is expected to unfold:
Top Half: Olympic bronze medalist Pablo Carreno Busta enters as the title favorite
Seeded players: [1] Pablo Carreno Busta, [3] Dan Evans, [5] Alexander Bublik, [6] Marin Cilic, [9] Jan-Lennard Struff, [12] Benoit Paire, [14] Richard Gasquet, [16] Dominik Koepfer
Expected semifinal: Pablo Carreno Busta vs Dan Evans
Analysis: Over the last couple of years, Pablo Carreno Busta has repeatedly proven himself to be one of the best hardcourt players in the world.
Just a couple of weeks ago, the Spaniard beat both Daniil Medvedev and Novak Djokovic to win a historic Olympic bronze medal in Tokyo. But his impressive run came to an end in Cincinnati with a 6-1 6-1 beatdown at the hands of Medvedev.
Carreno Busta would now be hoping to get his US Open preparations into higher gear by making a deep run in Winston-Salem. And standing in his path in the third round will likely be Germany's Dominik Koepfer.
But Koepfer could face an early obstacle himself in the form of Tennys Sandgren, a known threat on hardcourts.
Carreno Busta's biggest test is expected to come in the quarterfinals, against 2014 US Open champion Marin Cilic. But that matchup isn't a lock either, given Cilic's performances over the past couple of years.
The Croat's main threat before the quarters, Jan-Lennard Struff, is in miserable form himself; Struff has won just two of his last nine matches.
The other quarter of this section promises to be thoroughly entertaining, as it features a range of players with incredible racket skills as well as a tendency to descend into on-court tantrums.
Third seed Dan Evans was having his best year on tour until he tested positive for COVID-19. Since then he has lost three consecutive matches, and the Brit might have his hands full with Richard Gasquet, his likely obstacle before the quarterfinals.
Benoit Paire spent much of the previous 15 months giving everyone the impression that he has lost all interest in tennis. But the Frenchman proved everyone wrong by reaching the quarterfinals in Cincinnati, beating the likes of Denis Shapovalov and John Isner along the way.
Paire's newfound form and confidence should make him the favorite to reach the last-eight at Winstom-Salem, but consistency has never been one of his strong suits.
Other exciting matchups in this quarter include the opening-round clash between rising star Emil Ruusuvuori and France's Corentin Moutet. The winner of that match will face Alexander Bublik, whose matches never fail to entertain.
There is also the possibility of Bublik, Ruusuvuori or Moutet facing Paire in the third round, and the winner facing Gasquet in the quarterfinals.
Predicted semifinal: Pablo Carreno Busta def. Alexander Bublik
Early matches to watch out for: Tennys Sandgren vs Marco Cecchinato, Emil Ruusuvuori vs Corentin Moutet, Radu Albot vs Kwon Soon-woo
Bottom Half: Andy Murray and Nick Kyrgios face off in a blockbuster first-round battle
Seeded players: [2] David Goffin, [4] Marton Fucsovics, [7] Nikoloz Basilashvili, [8] John Millman, [10] Federico Delbonis, [11] Albert Ramos-Vinolas, [13] Frances Tiafoe, [15] Carlos Alcaraz
Expected semifinal: David Goffin vs Marton Fucsovics
Analysis: The bottom half of the draw at the Winston-Salem Open will feature seeds like David Goffin, Marton Fucsovics and Nikoloz Basilashvili. But the biggest attraction here will be the first-round clash between two unseeded players, Andy Murray and Nick Kyrgios.
Murray, the 2012 US Open champion, has been getting some decent wins under his belt this year. But the former World No. 1 hasn't been able to get a breakthrough win against a top player that could really fuel his comeback to the top level.
Murray took a wild card into Winston-Salem, but has been handed the toughest possible opening-round opponent in Kyrgios. The Aussie hasn't played much in the past two years and is on a three-match losing streak at the moment, but he is always expected to make life difficult for his opponents irrespective of form or match practice.
It is to be noted that neither Murray nor Kyrgios is expected to reach the quarterfinals given their current form. The winner of their match will have to beat Frances Tiafoe and then possibly David Goffin before the last eight stage, which looks improbable at the moment.
The other quarter of this section will put the hardcourt skills of up-and-coming youngster Carlos Alcaraz to the test. The teenager has proven himself on clay this year but is yet to get a main-draw win in the North American hardcourt swing.
Alcaraz is expected to face either Steve Johnson or Jaume Munar in the second round before a potential third-rounder against Marton Fucsovics.
Seventh seed Nikoloz Basilashvili faces a couple of small threats early on, in the form of Lorenzo Musetti and Federico Delbonis. Musetti would be eager to end his four-match losing streak dating back to the French Open, where he led Novak Djokovic by two sets to love before capitulating in five.
If Basilashvili manages to navigate past those obstacles, he will likely face Fucsovics in the last eight.
Predicted semifinal: Marton Fucsovics def. Frances Tiafoe
Early matches to watch out for: Andy Murray vs Nick Kyrgios, Lorenzo Musetti vs Federico Coria.
Prediction for the final
Pablo Carreno Busta def. Marton Fucsovics
