Dominic Thiem faces off against JJ Wolff before Fabio Fognini and Dusan Lajovic clash in the round of 64 in the 2022 Winston-Salem Open. Damien Kayat previews.
ATP 250 Series
Winston-Salem Open
Lake Forest University, North Carolina
Selected Round of 64 Matches- 23rd August
Dominic Thiem 1/1 | J.J Wolff 76/100
This should be a fascinating clash between two contrasting wildcard entries. Austrian Dominic Thiem has had a pretty frustrating time since returning from a year-long injury hiatus.
The 2020 US Open champ has a 7-9 record since returning to action at this year’s Marbella Challenger event. But his form certainly showed signs of improvement in the events immediately following his disastrous first-round loss at Roland Garros.
He reached three consecutive quarterfinals in the unglamorous post-French Open clay-court section. In fact, he managed to reach his first semi-final in 14 months at the Swiss Open.
But he has boldly decided to only play one warm-up event leading into the US Open. I found this slightly surprising given this will be his first hardcourt event of the year. It may take the Austrian a bit of time to adjust to these ultra-slick surfaces.
23-year-old American J.J Wolff was formally renowned for having the best mullet in world tennis. But Wolff has since abandoned the shock hairdo and it doesn’t appear to have had any Samson-esque effects.
In fact, the American has managed to break into the world’s top 100 courtesy of a brilliant quarterfinal run at the Citi Open. He beat the likes of Holger Rune and Denis Shapovalov in a polished display that followed three Challenger semi-finals this year.
Wolff, like compatriot Maxime Cressey, is part of a new breed of American player who doesn’t mind employing the hackneyed serve-and-volley approach.
He has a big serve that helps to keep points brief. He is coming off a disappointing first-round defeat in his home event in Cincinnati. Victory against a former Grand Slam champ could be just what the doctor ordered this week.
Verdict: Wolff to win at 76/100
This will be the first career meeting between these two. I really think that Thiem could struggle here. He hasn’t played on hard courts in ages and these are particularly quick surfaces. J.J Wolff likes to play short, decisive points that could disrupt Thiem’s rhythm. I really think the up-and-coming American could pull it off.
Fabio Fognini 58/100 | Dusan Lajovic 13/10
This should be a fascinating clash between two veteran clay-court specialists. 35-year-old Italian Fabio Fognini has recently hinted at retirement.
The former top 10 player has enjoyed an excellent career but has certainly plateaued in the last few years. A seven-time ATP winner, Fognini has enjoyed the majority of his success on clay.
The highlight of that was a sensational Masters 1000 victory at the 2019 Monte-Carlo Masters (more on that later). But he has shown the capacity to compete on hard surfaces.
He has reached the fourth round at five Grand Slam hard-court events. He has also reached five ATP finals on tour, winning the 2018 Los Cabos Open. But he currently has a 14-16 win-loss record for the year.
He has only won back-to-back main-draw matches in two events the entire year. However, he did reach the semi-finals in both events (the Serbian Open and Rio Open).
He pushed hardcourt sensation Andrey Rublev to three sets in Cincinnati last week. So, he still has the capacity to mix it up with the best in the world.
Speaking of Fognini’s 2019 Monte-Carlo Masters win: Dusan Lajovic was the man he beat in that final.
Like Fognini, 32-year-old Lajovic has enjoyed the majority of his success on clay surfaces. He won his only event at the 2019 Umag Open. But it hasn’t been a great season for the Serbian.
He has won ten matches and lost ten in a frustrating season. He did show some signs of life with a run to the Austrian Open quarterfinal last month (beating Aslan Karatsev in the process).
He failed to make it through qualifying in Cincinnati last week and it may be even tougher for him on these really fast surfaces. He will look to avoid Fognini’s mammoth forehand and attempt to shorten the rallies when he can.
Verdict: Fognini to win in three at 28/10
Their Monte-Carlo final meeting has been their only career meeting up until now. Neither one of these guys has a gun serve so I think you can expect quite a few extended baseline rallies. But I think Fognini should have enough to get past the stuttering Lajovic. He was really bright against Rublev last week and he has generally enjoyed much better results on hard surfaces. But I think this will be a brutal encounter between two baseline-hugging veterans. I suspect it could go all the way to three sets.
