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Nakashima, Korda and Coric headline the Winston Salem Open this week

By Myre Aberdan

WINSTON SALEM, NORTH CAROLINA - AUGUST 20: Zhizhen Zhang of China serves to Ilya Ivashka of Belarus in the first round of the Winston-Salem Open at Wake Forest Tennis Complex on August 20, 2023 in Winston Salem, North Carolina. (Photo by Grant Halverson/Getty Images)
WINSTON SALEM, NORTH CAROLINA - AUGUST 20: Zhizhen Zhang of China serves to Ilya Ivashka of Belarus in the first round of the Winston-Salem Open at Wake Forest Tennis Complex on August 20, 2023 in Winston Salem, North Carolina. (Photo by Grant Halverson/Getty Images) /
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The 2023 edition of the Winston Salem Open is bursting at the seams with talent. In one of the more star-studded line-ups ever presented North Carolina, only one man will reign supreme a week out from the US Open. A title at Winston Salem will not only bring the winner a burst of momentum heading in to the US Open, but will hand the winner a cool $104,460. This year, the tournament has received a healthy 4 percent increase in prize money across the board, so there will be a lot more money up for grabs even for those players in the draw ranked outside the top 65.

Dominic Thiem comes into Winston Salem hot on the heels of a finals loss in Kitzbuhel. Thiem has had a relatively quiet 4 months-with his previous best result a quarter-final at the Bavarian International. With this last title win, period, being the US Open 3 years ago- Thiem is running out of time in his quest to find form and return to the player he once was.

Brandon Nakashima just won his opening match at the Winston Salem Open in a tight 3 set affair against Australia’s Jason Kubler. His next assignment: a second round match against Arthur Fils. Nakashima has also had a quiet few months, with his last major result coming in the form of a semi-final showing at the Lyon Open. Surprisingly enough, in that semi-final he was also up against Arthur Fils, but Fils was too good and went on to win the title. Expect another fight from Fils, if their last match means anything

Sebastian Korda is another player to look out for who will compete for the title this week. Korda undeniably has also had a quiet two month period since his impressive run at Queens. In that tournament, it was Queens and Wimbledon champion Carlos Alcaraz who put an end to his dream run in London. Korda is seeded 3rd at this tournament-so there is every reason to believe he can get the job done, if he plays to his ranking.

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