Former world No. 3 Grigor Dimitrov has accepted a wildcard into next week’s ATP 250 event in Winston-Salem, the tournament announced. Dimitrov, 31, is set to make his second appearance on the hard courts of Winston-Salem.
A long ago in 2011, Dimitrov made his first and lone Winston-Salem appearance. Back then, Dimitrov had a first round bye at the tournament, before beating Donald Young in his opener. Then in the round-of-16, Dimitrov suffered a tight three-set loss to Alexandr Dolgopolov.
This week, the Winston-Salem organizers announced that Dimitrov has accepted a wildcard into the tournament. “It’s great for Winston-Salem Open fans that we get the chance to welcome Grigor back. The tournament has grown so much since he was last here, and of course, so has Grigor.
He was just outside the top 50 in 2011, and now he’s sitting inside the top 20. He’s enjoying quite a career, and we will enjoy being part of it in 2022,” Winston-Salem Open tournamnt director Jeff Ryan said.
Dimitrov in, Tommy Paul out
The Winston-Salem organizers received good news when Dimitrov accepted a wildcard into the tournament, but also bad news after American Paul announced his withdrawl from the tournament. After playing four hard-court tournaments in as many weeks this summer, Paul has decided to withdraw from Winston-Salem and give himself some time to rest ahead of the US Open.
“I am sorry to report that Tommy Paul has withdrawn from the tournament in order to rest prior to the US Open. We wish him much success. We continue to be pleased with the depth of our field and look forward to this weekend,” Ryan said.
Previously, the Winston-Salem organizers handed main draw wildcards to Gael Monfils and Kei Nishikori. Unfortunately, both Monfils and Nishikori were forced to return their wildcards. Monfils is dealing with a foot injury, while Nishikori isn’t yet ready to return from a hip surgery.
