There will be a new champion at the Winston-Salem Open after last year’s winner Kevin Anderson was knocked out 7-6(5), 6-4, by Jiri Vesely in the second round.
The world No.25 fired 16 aces during his second round encounter, but was unable to find a way to break his Czech rivals serve. It is the latest blow to what has been a mixed season for the South African. Since the Wimbledon championships, Anderson has only been able to win back-to-back matches in two out of six tournaments.
“It would’ve been nice to come back here and have a little bit better showing. But it was a tough day.” Anderson said following his loss.
It is not the first time that year that Vesely has upset a seed in a tournament this year. At the Monte Carlo Masters the 23-year-old stunned Novak Djokovic. Then at the Wimbledon championships, he ended Dominic Thiem’s run.
“It was tough to finish it,” Vesely said about his win over the fifth seed.
“It’s always tough when you know that you maybe only get one or two chances in the match. And you know you have to use them. Once you use them, then you still have to finish the match. Kevin played some really good shots at the end, and he put me under pressure so he deserved a break point.
New American No.1 Steve Johnson enjoyed a smoother encounter in his second round match. Facing Lukas Rosol, the World No.21 required less than an hour to defeat the Czech player 6-3, 6-2. Awaiting Johnson in the third round will be Fernando Verdasco. The Spaniard bounced back from a set down to defeat rising star Taylor Fritz 3-6, 6-3, 6-2.
Second seed Roberto Bautista Agut survived a big scare during his match against Aljaz Bedene. The 28-year-old needed over two hours to battle past the Brit 4-6, 6-3, 6-3. This week Bautista Agut is chasing after his third title of the season.
“I wanted to keep going,” Bautista Agut said about his comeback in the match.
“I wanted to leave everything on the court, and I think I was still focused on the match after losing the first set and I could come back.”
In the last sixteen the world No.17 will play Marcos Baghdatis. Baghdatis defeated Donald Young 6-4, 4-6, 6-4, in his second round match.
Full results
| Match Result | Score |
| (6) Sam Querrey def. Guillermo Garcia-Lopez | 6-3, 6-7 (5), 7-5 |
| (14) Marcos Baghdatis def. Donald Young | 6-4, 4-6, 6-4 |
| (9) Viktor Troicki def. Kyle Edmund | 6-3, 7-5 |
| (3) Pablo Cuevas def. Malek Jaziri | 7-5, 6-1 |
| Yen-Hsun Lu def. (10) Joao Sousa | 6-2, 6-4 |
| John Millman def. (8) Albert Ramos-Vinolas | 4-6, 7-5, 6-3 |
| (2) Roberto Bautista Agut def. Aljaz Bedene | 4-6, 6-3, 6-3 |
| Diego Schwartzman def. (7) Gilles Simon | 7-6 (2), 6-1 |
| Bjorn Fratangelo def. (11) Paolo Lorenzi | 4-6, 6-2, 6-3 |
| Jiri Vesely def. (5) Kevin Anderson | 7-6 (5), 6-4 |
| (4) Steve Johnson def. Lukas Rosol | 6-3, 6-2 |
| (15) Fernando Verdasco def. Taylor Fritz | 3-6, 6-3, 6-2 |
| (12) Andrey Kuznetsov def. Mikhail Youzhny | Walkover |
| (16) Pablo Carreno Busta def. Jan-Lennard Struff | 6-4, 7-5 |
