Thiem joins Nishikori was wild card entrants for Winston-Salem Open

The two former top 5 players join Americans Frances Tiafoe and Tommy Paul as early commitments to the ATP 250 event

Dominic Thiem and Kei Nsihikori have been awarded wild cards for the 2022 Winston-Salem Open Image Credits: AI/ Reuters/ Icon SMI/ Panoramic

Haresh Ramchandani

July 26, 2022

Former US Open champion Dominic Thiem has entered the ATP Winston-Salem Open, joining another former top 5 player as a wild card entrant in the field.

Thiem, who returned to the tour in March after more than nine months on the sidelines, reached his first ATP semi-final in 14 months at the Swiss Open Gstaad last week.

The Austrian lost the first seven matches of his comeback before winning one round in the Salzburg Challenger and then reaching the quarter-finals in Bastad prior to his run in Gstaad. With those efforts, he just returned to the world’s top 200 this week.

Thiem is competing on clay this week in Kitzbuhel and will use his protected ranking to play the Cincinnati Masters before Winston-Salem.

This will be Thiem’s first appearance in the Winston-Salem Open since 2012 when he lost in the first round of the qualifying draw. The 28-year-old is the second former top 5 player to be awarded a wild card into the ATP 250 tournament.

Former world No 4 Kei Nishikori has also accepted a wild card entry into the tournament. The former US Open finalist has not played this year after undergoing arthroscopic left hip surgery in January.

The Japanese player, who had entered this week’s Atlanta Open but decided to postpone his comeback, is now expected to return at the ATP Challenger in Vancouver next week.

Nishiori,currently ranked No 160 in the world, last played in Winston-Salem in the first edition of the tournament in 2011 when he reached the round of 16.

American players Frances Tiafoe and Tommy Paul are also committed to play in the ATP 250 event which runs from August 20 to August 27 and takes place the week prior to the US Open.

You might also like this