It’s the final week of play prior to the US Open.
ADHEREL
Play features one event each on the ATP and WTA side — a surprising three Top 10 women in action (and rapidly changing, see below), but mostly a mix of players looking for some last-minute Slam preparation or some last-minute appearance cash.
Here’s a look at the ATP Winston-Salem Open and the WTA Connecticut Open:
WINSTON-SALEM OPEN
Winston-Salem, North Carolina; Surface: hard
Seeds: Richard Gasquet, Roberto Bautista Agut, Pablo Cuevas, Steve Johnson, Kevin Anderson, Sam Querrey, Gilles Simon, Albert Ramos-Vinolas, Viktor Troicki, Joao Sousa, Paolo Lorenzi, Andrey Kuznetsov, Federico Delbonis, Marcos Baghdatis, Fernando Verdasco, Pablo Carreno Busta
Floaters: Guillermo “G-Lo” Garcia-Lopez, Lukas Rosol
Notes: 48 draw with all 16 seeds receiving opening-round byes…Potential tough starts for (6) Querrey vs. G-Lo and (4) Johnson against the upset specialist Rosol…A smattering of “B”-level stars such as the Rio gold medal double winner Johnson, Rio silver doubles medal winner Rajeev “Rampras” Ram, Aussie Thanasi Kokkinakis coming off the injured list, and rising Americans Taylor Fritz and Frances Tiafoe meeting in the first round…Wildcards were awarded to Americans Bjorn Fratangelo, Ram, Tiafoe, and the No. 2 seed Bautista Agut…Will Querrey still be rockin’ the encyclopedia salesman ‘stache this week?…Notable pulls from the event were Borna Coric, Ernests Gulbis, Nicolas Mahut, and Benoit Paire…Anderson beat Herbert in last year’s final…Former champs in the field are Anderson (2015), Rosol (2014), and Verdsco (2009).
CONNECTICUT OPEN PRESENTED BY UNITED TECHNOLOGIES
New Haven, Conn.; Surface: hard
Seeds: Agnieszka Radwanska, Roberta Vinci, Petra Kvitova, Timea Bacsinszky, Karolina Pliskova, Elina Svitolina, Barbora Strycova, ???????
Floaters: Caroline Wozniacki, Belinda Bencic
Notes: This tournament has turned into a complete mess with the seeding in chaos as Svetlana Kuznetova withdrew citing a shoulder injury, Johanna Konta pulled with a back injury, Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova withdrew citing a back injury, then today (Sunday) Madison Keys injured her neck practicing and withdrew…You have to think Pliskova is a good chance for a pull after winning Cincy today…Wildcards were awarded to Radwanska, Caroline Wozniacki, Genie Bouchard and Shelby Rogers…Who knows what interesting first round match-ups will occur as this draw obviously has some reshuffling that will occur, but as of now (1) Radwanska after a bye could start against Wozniacki…Also withdrawing were former No. 1 Jelena Jankovic and Sloane Stephens…Kvitova is the two-time defending champ, beating Lucie Safarova in last year’s final…Former champs in the field are Kvitova (2015-14,’12), and Wozniacki (2011-08).
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