WINSTON-SALEM – The final round of the Winston-Salem Open men’s tennis tournament is currently underway at the Wake Forest University tennis complex and is scheduled for Saturday.
The ATP World Tour 250 event – with 48 players in singles and 16 teams in doubles – began last Saturday with 35 top 75 players in the 2024 ATP world rankings.
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The Open was the last men’s tournament before the US Open for the past 13 years.
Returning 2023 singles champion and top seed Sebastian Baez (No. 21) was scheduled to face Croatian-born Borna Coric (No. 87) in the second round on Tuesday, who defeated Sumit Nagal (No. 72) 6-4, 6-2 in 70 minutes on Sunday.
“I like the fast conditions and of course it’s a lot faster during the day than when I play at night,” said Coric, who now has an 8-3 record in Winston-Salem. “But I also like the city. It’s obviously very quiet and before I go to New York I need some rest, so this is very good.”
The three-time ATP Tour titleholder will face No. 65 Rinky Hijikata in the round of 16 if he defeats Baez.
“I knew of course not to panic because it was still 1-1 and I just stayed calm,” Coric said of his match against Nagal. “I felt very good on the court today so I knew I just had to be patient and my time would come.”
Zachary Svajda (No. 107), Learner Tien (No. 230), Alex Michelsen (No. 52) and Christopher Eubanks (No. 120) are the four American players who advanced to the second round of play.
“It feels good. I haven’t been here since 2019,” said Eubanks, who secured a matchup with tournament 14th seed and ATP No. 61 Hugo Gaston in the round of 32. “I generally really enjoy playing in the south, so I’m happy to be back in Winston and get my first win.”
Meanwhile, Australian Aleksandar Vukic (No. 94) beat Daniel Evans (No. 186) 2-6, 6-4, 6-1 before defeating Adrian Mannarino (No. 42) 7-6, 2-6, 6-1. Vukic was scheduled to play either Alexander Shevchenko (No. 60) or Pablo Carreno Busta (No. 299) in the third round.
The second singles round on Tuesday also featured matches by Arthur Rinderknech (No. 56)/Christopher O’Connell (No. 86) as well as David Goffin (No. 90)/Luciano Darderi (No. 38) and Tomas Martin Etcheverry (No. 34)/Zizou Bergs (No. 85).
“It was a nice atmosphere and the evening session is always special. It’s a good win. It’s a tough win,” Bergs said after defeating American Reilly Opelka 6-4, 3-6, 7-6(1). “I feel like I haven’t won many matches recently, so it’s very important to get a win, especially a close one.”
In the smaller doubles, the reigning doubles champions of the Winston-Salem Open, Nathaniel Lammons (No. 26) and Jackson Withrow (No. 26), reached the quarterfinals.
The two Americans – the only ones left in their group – were scheduled to play against either Rafael Matos (No. 33) and Marcelo Melo (No. 38) or Alexander Erler (No. 49) and Robin Haase (No. 1187).
With the tournament being played in Winston-Salem, it was only fitting that a Wake Forest men’s doubles team would earn its first win in professional play.
Despite never having played doubles together in Wake, Demon Deacon stars DK Suresh (No. 1087) and Luca Pow (No. 1283) won their first-round match with a 6-4, 5-7, 10-8 upset victory over Ariel Behar (No. 43) and Andres Molteni (No. 30).
“It was incredible to do that in front of the home crowd and we want to thank all the fans who came. Of course it’s cool to play with the team and it’s a different environment,” Suresh said after the game. “But really, at the professional level, you’re playing for yourself. It’s everyone’s dream to turn professional and I can’t explain what I’m going through right now.”
It was the first time a current Wake Forest player won a match in the main draw of the Winston-Salem Open since Cory Parr in 2011.
“It was tough,” added Pow. “DK and I have never played doubles together. I knew I had to perform for him and I won a lot but I didn’t have anything to my name, but I performed and DK performed and we played great tennis.”
The pair were scheduled to face No. 53 seed Gonzalo Escobar and No. 56 seed Aleksandr Nedovyesov in the round of 16 on Wednesday.
