By Erik Gudris | @ATNTennis | Wednesday August 23, 2023
Country music, beautiful sunsets, and Southern hospitality are always on hand at the Winston-Salem Open, the final stop on the ATP Tour before the US Open.
The ATP 250 event, hosted on the grounds of Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, offers local fans a chance to savor world-class tennis in a cozy venue that often has a feel of a local community event where friends and neighbors say “Howdy” to each other. Where families will not only cheer on their favorite players, but also their children serving as ball kids this week.
In fact, on an outside court, a proud mother walked up to her young son, a ball kid, during a changeover, perhaps to offer words of encouragement only to have him shoo her away by saying, “Not now mom, I’m working.”
This event has always featured a healthy mix of veteran stars, rising young talent, American pros, of course, but plenty of players from everywhere, including many French players who enjoy the relaxed vibe. Richard Gasquet was seen strolling along downtown Winston-Salem before his next match.
The tournament offers a chance for players to get extra matches in before the US Open, especially for those whose hard-court season hasn’t quite turned out how they wanted so far.
One of those is top seed Borna Coric of Croatia. Coric found himself playing under a gorgeous Carolina sunset in an evening match against Australia’s Rinky Hiijikata who is a local favorite in these parts.
Why? It’s because the current World No. 111 Hijikata played college tennis down the road at the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill. So that’s why one could hear a smattering of “Go Heels!” shouts during the match, though, to be fair, the crowd supported both players equally.
After winning the first set, Coric found himself tested in the second set. Hijikata, keeping level with his higher-ranked opponent, earned a set point in the second set. Yet Coric saved that with some sizzling tennis. Coric eventually forced a tiebreak and then closed out the match 6-2, 7-6(2).
Sebastian Korda is another player looking for momentum here before the US Open. It’s been a tough few months for the 23-year-old American who only won one match throughout the hard court swing before Winston-Salem. Korda finally got back into the winner’s column with a 6-2, 6-3 win over France’s Benjamin Bonzi.
Korda, who just barely claimed a No. 32 seed at the US Open, will next face Hungary’s Marton Fucsovics.
Aside from the established players, these ATP 250 events are always the place to discover new players who might just breakthrough to wider recognition. And some of these players have to take advantage of the opportunity to do that when it arrives.
Take for example current World No. 385 Omni Kumar of California.
Before Winston-Salem, the 21-year-old (though he looks like a young teenager) Kumar had yet to win any matches, even on the Challenger level. After losing in qualifying, Kumar got into the main draw as a lucky loser when Dominic Thiem withdrew due to illness.
Kumar is certainly a player that catches one’s attention. For starters, he’s a left-hander whose entire right arm is covered in tattoos. Then he hits an unorthodox backhand that starts out as a two-hander before, at the last minute, he pulls his right arm away to rip a one-handed backhand ala the great Fabrice Santoro. Despite being 5’9”, he also possesses a potent serve.
This combo so far has frustrated his opponents. Kumar first took out World No. 75 Arthur Rinderknech in the opening round, then he upset No. 8 seed Botic van de Zandschlup 6-3, 7-5 to put himself into the round of 16, much to the delight of himself and the local fans.
These unexpected moments make both ATP and WTA 250 events very special. With all the recent talk of both tours consolidating in the future, and perhaps even eliminating smaller events, let’s hope that tournaments like Winston-Salem can continue connecting fans and their communities with world-class tennis, creating memories that last a lifetime.
Photo credit: Erik Gudris