The last matches before Wimbledon will be played on Saturday, when titles will be handed out in Eastbourne and Mallorca. Taylor Fritz, Max Purcell, Alejandro Tabilo, and Sebastian Ofner are the players in action.
Rothesay International: (1) Taylor Fritz vs. (Q) Max Purcell
Fritz is one win away from becoming Eastbourne’s first three-time champion since the tournament began in 1995. The 13th-ranked American has lifted the trophy every other year dating back to 2019 (the event wasn’t held in 2020). If the trend continues, Fritz will be the last man standing with his eighth ATP title. He has been great this entire season and momentum has continued with Eastbourne defeats of Thiago Seyboth Wild, Jerry Shang, and Aleksandar Vukic–all in straight sets.
Up next for Fritz on Saturday is a second meeting with Purcell, who lost their only previous encounter 7-6(7), 7-6(4) this past fall in Basel. It has been a dream week for the 94th-ranked Australian; he qualified for the main draw and is now in his first ATP final after taking out Laslo Djere, Lorenzo Sonego, Miomir Kecmanovic, and Billy Harris. Fritz has not been broken a single time in Mallorca, and even if Purcell manages to force a tiebreaker or two his back will still be up against the wall. The No. 1 seed is 5-0 in tiebreakers this week and 2-0 in tiebreakers against Purcell.
Pick: Fritz in 2
Mallorca Championships: Sebastian Ofner vs. (4) Alejandro Tabilo
Tabilo and Ofner will also be going head-to-head for the second time in their careers when they battle for the Mallorca title on Saturday. Their only previous contest came last year in Australian Open qualifying, with Ofner prevailing 6-4, 7-6(4). The 28-year-old Austrian has earned more than a third (16 of 40) of his main-tour match victories this season and will break back into the top 50 of the ATP rankings even if he loses this match. Ofner has advanced at the expense of Jaume Munar, Luciano Darderi, Alex Michelsen, and Paul Jubb.
The 2024 campaign has been even better for Tabilo, who is getting the job done on every surface. The 24th-ranked Chilean has a title on hard courts (Auckland), a Masters 1000 semifinal on clay (Rome), and now a final on grass (Mallorca). He has maintained his impressive form with victories over Alexander Shevchenko, Jakub Mensik, and Gael Monfils–the latter in a third-set tiebreaker. Although Ofner is more experienced on grass, Tabilo is without question the superior all-court player and has been the more dominant player so far this week.
Pick: Tabilo in 3
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Fritz in 2; Tabilo in 2.