The ATP Winston-Salem Open is the last stop before the US Open. There will be six first-round matches on schedule on Monday and, as always, we here at LWOT will be offering our previews and predictions for every match on the schedule in North Carolina including Thanasi Kokkinakis vs James Duckworth (and more) in another article. But who will come out on top?
ATP Winston-Salem Day 2 Predictions
Fabio Fognini vs Dusan Lajovic
Head-to-head: Fognini 1-0 Lajovic
Three years ago, Fabio Fognini and Dusan Lajovic battled for the Monte Carlo Masters crown. And fast-forward to 2022, both men seem to be declining. Tennis can be a quick turnaround sport. Fognini is now ranked outside the top 50 and oddly enough needed to qualify for the main draw of an ATP 250 event at one point. Lajovic has also fared dismally on the ATP Tour in 2022 and is close to exiting the world’s top 100. This matchup is a flip of a coin, but Fognini’s battling display against Rublev in Cincinnati should fill him with plenty of optimism that he can conquer the Serb again.
Prediction: Fognini in 3
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Jiri Lehecka vs Peter Gojowczyk
Head-to-head: first meeting
The formbook points to a routine win for Jiri Lehecka in this one. He will kick off his North American hard-court swing on the back of a title-winning run at the Liberec Challenger. The veteran Peter Gojowczyk has scored just two wins at Tour level this season, besting Brandon Nakashima in Acapulco and Ugo Humbert in Newport. So, clearly, the German is not to be underestimated even against the odds. However, his recent loss to Paire in Washington poses a lot more questions rather than answers regarding his overall form.
Prediction: Lehecka in 2
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Nikoloz Basilashvili vs Thiago Monteiro
Basilashvili has been up and down in recent years. When his game is on, he has beaten the best in the world. When it’s not, he can lose to anyone. That makes his matches very difficult to predict. He hasn’t played so well recently, though, so a loss seems like a safer pick here.
Prediction: Monteiro in 3
Dominic Thiem vs J.J. Wolf
Head-to-head: first meeting
It hasn’t been plain sailing for Dominic Thiem since he made his return from injury. You would assume Thiem would be better placed playing hard-court tennis in order to condition his wrist on slightly less demanding surfaces. Nonetheless, Thiem was able to find his footing in the past month on clay, picking up that elusive first win in over a year at the ATP 250 event in Bastad. He has since reached the quarterfinals or better in each of his last three tournaments.
J.J. Wolf, for his part, arrives at Winston-Salem as a newly-minted member of the Top 100. The American made a fine run to the quarterfinals in Washington, beating the likes of Shapovalov and Holger Rune. While the onus is on Thiem to find some much-needed momentum ahead of his return to the US Open, he is likely to fall short against an opponent who will relish securing another big scalp.
Prediction: Wolf in 3
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