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1. Best in Class: The Winston-Salem Open, the final men’s event in the US Open Series, was voted by players as the 2016 ATP World Tour 250 Tournament of the Year along with the If Stockholm Open.
2. Back on Top: Last year’s finalists, Roberto Bautista Agut and Pablo Carreno Busta of Spain, are the top two seeds. Carreno Busta won his first ATP World Tour by rallying past his countryman 6-7(6), 7-6(1), 6-4 in the longest final by games in tournament history. Bautista Agut is the No. 1 seed for third time at an ATP World Tour tournament (2016 Sofia champion and 2016 Moscow second round).
3. Past Finalists: Carreno Busta and Bautista Agut are joined in the draw by 2011 and 2012 champion John Isner, 2011 runner-up Julien Benneteau and 2015 finalist Pierre-Hugues Herbert. Kevin Anderson, the 2015 champion, withdrew on Saturday due to a right elbow injury.
4. Reigning Champion: Carreno Busta was 49th in the Emirates ATP Rankings and without an ATP World Tour singles title entering the 2016 Winston-Salem Open. He’s 46-23 since then, adding to his Winston-Salem title with two more at Moscow and Estoril. The Spaniard achieved a new career-high ranking eight times in 2016 and nine times thus far in 2017, peaking at No. 15 on 24 July.

5. Hometown Hero: Isner, a North Carolina native, is 12-0 in matches and 8-0 in tie-breaks at the Winston-Salem Open, winning titles in 2011 and 2012. The No. 1 American and No. 3 seed returns to his home event for the first time since conceding a walkover in the 2014 quarter-finals. Isner won titles at Newport and Atlanta last month, holding in 146 of 149 service games since 19 July (98 per cent).
6. Fab Five: Five #NextGenATP players are in the draw and eager to earn points in the Emirates ATP Race To Milan. American Taylor Fritz received a wild card this week, while No. 13 seed Hyeon Chung, No. 14 seed Borna Coric and No. 15 seed Daniil Medvedev received first-round byes. Unseeded Andrey Rublev broke into the Top 50 on July 24 after winning his first title at Umag.

7. Wild Title Hopes: Wild cards are 6-3 in ATP World Tour finals this season. Hoping to become the seventh wild card champion of 2017 are Fritz, Coric, Ernests Gulbis and Wake Forest junior Petros Chrysochos. The 21-year-old Chrysochos is a two-time All-American and a Davis Cup teammate of Marcos Baghdatis, who is making his fifth Winston-Salem appearance this week.
8. All-Time Leader: Yen-Hsun Lu of Chinese Taipei has earned more victories at the Winston-Salem Open than any other player in the tournament’s first six years (2011-16). Lu is 13-4 at the event with a semi-final finish in 2014 and runs to the quarter-finals in 2013, 2015 and 2016.
9. Season of Firsts: No. 10 seed Yuichi Sugita won his first ATP World Tour title in his first final and following his first semi-final at the Antalya Turkey Open. After breaking into the Top 50 on 3 July, Sugita earned his first Grand Slam victory at Wimbledon and reached his first ATP World Tour Masters 1000 quarter-final at the Western & Southern Open in Cincinnati.
10. Still Going Strong: Daniel Nestor and Leander Paes, the 2013 doubles champions, are returning at the age of 44 with different partners -- Nestor with Dominic Inglot and Paes with Purav Raja.

Players, ATP officials take in the historic moment presented by nature
The life of an ATP World Tour player can become pretty routine. Wake up. Eat. Practise. Eat. Stretch. Workout. Toss in a match here and there, and you have the life of a player when he's competing at a tournament.
But on Monday at the Winston-Salem Open, players were happy to welcome a historic distraction to their daily routine: the eclipse. Winston-Salem, North Carolina, was close to the path of the total solar eclipse, which cut through the continental U.S., from Oregon on the west coast to South Carolina on the east coast, and players, with the help of tournament officials, made sure to take in the once-in-a-100-year phenomenon.
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They wore special eclipse glasses and stared into the sky, gawking at the moon's ability to shield the sun. Tournament officials purchased about 200 sets of special eclipse glasses so players, ball kids and officials could safely view the event.
“It's cool. It's something you don't get to see every day, with barely seeing any of the sun. We only had 95 per cent coverage of the sun, and it's crazy how much, with five per cent showing, can still brighten the day,” said Steve Johnson.
The American watched the eclipse from the tournament's centre court, along with other players and ATP World Tour Executive Chairman & President Chris Kermode and ATP World Tour Chief Player Officer Ross Hutchins.
Eclipse
Eclipse photo credit: Bryan Pollard
“You get a chance to be a part of history. You'll always know where you were when you saw the eclipse in 2017 here at the tournament,” Johnson said. “Hopefully everybody enjoyed it and was safe.”
Monday marked the first time since 1918 that a total solar eclipse has gone coast to coast in the U.S.
“It was a special moment,” said Pierre-Hugues Herbert, who remembered wearing eclipse glasses when he was a child in Europe. “If it happens once in 100 years, it's just amazing to be a part of, to live this.”
“It was a great experience,” said Joao Sousa of Portugal. “I think being a part of this activity here at the tournament, it's a moment of history... I'm not sure the next time I will have the chance to see this in my life. I hope it's not my last one but as I said, it was a great experience and I really enjoyed it.”
The tournament warned players of the eclipse ahead of time, posting a “WSO Eclipse Day” notice in the players lounge. “Dear Players & Guests: Today there will be a solar eclipse lasting from 1:12PM – 4:03PM. During this time when the sun's natural light is blocked, all courts will have the lights turned on...”
Almost everyone participated in the event, even Donald Young and Rogerio Dutra Silva, who took the court at 3 p.m. for their first-round match.
Dutra Silva
“We're happy,” said Andre Sa. “Something different about our day. Gets you out of your comfort zone... It was nice show by nature. We loved it.”

Tournament entering its seventh year as an ATP World Tour 250
Everywhere he went, ATP World Tour Executive Chairman and President Chris Kermode heard the same thing on Monday at the Winston-Salem Open.
“Every player comes up and says, 'What an amazing event. It's so friendly. Loads of practice courts. Good facilities.' So no wonder it won the best 250 award on tour. I can quite see why it won. It's brilliant,” Kermode said.

The Winston-Salem Open, along with the If Stockholm Open, was voted by players as the best ATP World Tour 250 Tournament in 2016. Kermode attended the tournament for the first time on Monday to help officials celebrate the honour.
“It's amazing. I arrived and I had no idea what to expect, and then I come here and see this amazing university setup, incredible football arena that we're now looking over at,” Kermode said.

The tournament, in its seventh year, is hosted at Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. The university's tennis complex features 11 courts available for practice throughout the day. Players also have opportunities to work out on campus, including on the football field, which is adjacent to the Wake Forest Tennis Complex.
“It's established itself, put roots in the ground here,” Kermode said. “It's now an event that people want to come and win, which is fantastic and that's a huge testament to everyone who's worked on this event.”