There’s just one more ATP World Tour event on before the US Open gets underway next week. This week’s event is the Winston-Salem Open, which is played at Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem, North Carolina in the United States. As always, we preview the tournament and provide our best value betting tips. Check them out below and good luck to everyone following!
ATP World Tour Betting Tips
Winston-Salem Open
As mentioned above, the only tournament on this week at ATP level is the Winston-Salem Open, which is a 250 event. There are, however, plenty of matches going on with the US Open qualifiers getting underway, although none of the household names will be competing there.
The Winston-Salem Open made its debut on the ATP World Tour in 2011 and is played on outdoor hard courts at Wake Forest University. There’s a 48-strong field competing this week with plenty of Americans taking to the courts, as you’d expect. John Isner is the only player two have won this tournament on multiple occasions (2011-12), while Daniil Medvedev is the defending champion. Neither of these guys are playing there this week.
Top Seeds
It’s fair to say the quality at this year’s Winston-Salem Open isn’t of the highest standard, although there are still a few drawcards among the field. Let’s take a look at the top eight seeds this week, all of whom are ranked inside the world’s top 50.
(1) Benoit Paire (France)
(2) Denis Shapovalov (Canada)
(3) Hubert Hurkacz (Poland)
(4) Joao Sousa (Portugal)
(5) Daniel Evans (Great Britain)
(6) Sam Querrey (USA)
(7) Lorenzo Sonega (Italy)
(8) Filip Krajinovic (Serbia)
Contenders
There’s no standout superstar player at this tournament, which means the betting is fairly open. The current favourite to win the tournament is Sam Querrey ($6.50), which we believe is too short for the way he’s been playing this season. The only other player in single figures is Benoit Paire ($8). He’s the number one seed here this week, so I guess it makes sense that he’s one of the shortest quotes, although his consistency is a real problem when it comes to winning titles. The third and fourth favourites this week are Denis Shapovalov ($11) and Daniel Evans ($13). Both players have found some of their best form in recent weeks and loom as genuine three. Also, Andy Murray ($26) has been granted a wildcard to compete this week. He’s certainly not fit enough to be considered a title fancy, but it’s nice to see the former world #1 back and playing competitively.
Prediction
The field is open enough this week to back at least two players, maybe even three if you can’t decide between a couple. For us, we like the form of young Canadian Denis Shapovalov and will be putting him as our on top selection. He gets the number two seed here and should be able to navigate his way to the final as long as he stays consistent. The other guy we’ll be backing is Great Britain’s Daniel Evans. He’s absolutely soared up the rankings this season and is arguably the form player in this field. He’s the number five seed, so he too should be able to make the most of a soft draw. Both players we're backing have automatic qualification into the second round, which is another great advantage.
Also Backing: Daniel Evans $13
Denis Shapovalov Title
$11
