Blink and you might miss it. That’s the story of the grass-court season. We are only two weeks into lawn tennis, but just one week remains until Wimbledon gets underway. Mallorca and Eastbourne give players one more chance to get their games in shape prior to arriving at the All-England Club Club, and many are taking advantage. Stefanos Tsitsipas headlines the Mallorca draw, while Taylor Fritz, Tommy Paul, and Francisco Cerundolo are among those in Eastbourne. There is also a newsworthy exhibition at Hurlingham, so it’s a busy week in the tennis world before the season’s third Grand Slam begins next Monday.
Mallorca Championships
Where: Mallorca, Spain
Surface: Grass
Prize money: 915,630 Euros
Points: 250
Top seed: Stefanos Tsitsipas
Defending champion: Stefanos Tsitsipas
Draw analysis: Tsitsipas won this title last year and he should be motivated to do well again in 2023 because he is lacking both grass-court matches and confidence. The fifth-ranked Greek lost in the second round in Stuttgart and Halle, winning just a single match in the process. He could meet Richard Gasquet (who beat him in Stuttgart in Halle) or ‘s-Hertogenbosch runner-up Jordan Thompson in the quarterfinals. Adrian Mannarino, another grass-court guru, is also in the top half of the draw.
Depending on what Alexander Bublik decides to do, the other side is more wide open. Bublik is coming off the biggest title of his career in Halle, so it remains to be seen if he wants to play another tournament prior to Wimbledon. Other big servers in the Kazakh’s quarter are Ben Shelton and Chris Eubanks. Neither one has much experience on grass, however, so this could be a good opportunity for No. 2 seed Alejandro Davidovich Fokina to take care of business.
Hot: Alexander Bublik, Bernabe Zapata Miralles, Jordan Thompson, Yannick Hanfmann
Cold: Stefanos Tsitsipas, Feliciano Lopez, Lloyd Harris, Albert Ramos-Vinolas
Quarterfinal predictions: Jordan Thompson over Stefanos Tsitsipas, Adrian Mannarino over Ilya Ivashka, Jason Kubler over Ben Shelton, and Alejandro Davidovich Fokina over Lloyd Harris
Semifinals: Mannarino over Thompson and Davidovich Fokina over Kubler
Final: Mannarino over Davidovich Fokina
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Rothesay International
Where: Eastbourne, Great Britain
Surface: Grass
Prize money: 723,655 Euros
Points: 250
Top seed: Taylor Fritz
Defending champion: Taylor Fritz
Draw analysis: Fritz is the top seed and also defending champion in what looks like a balanced draw in Eastbourne. The American should not have much trouble advancing to the semifinals, at which point he could run into either Cerundolo or Lorenzo Sonego. Fritz vs. Cerundolo would be a rematch of a French Open third-round match, won by the Argentine in four sets.
There are also probably just two or three realistic title contenders in the bottom half of the bracket—although you never really know what can happen in the week before a Grand Slam. Paul is the No. 2 seed, but Nicolas Jarry is in superior form and the Chilean’s big-hitting game can work well on any surface. Jarry will kick off his campaign against Gregoire Barrere and could face Brandon Nakashima in the quarterfinals prior to a potential date with Paul in the semis.
Hot: Francisco Cerundolo, Nicolas Jarry, Tomas Martin Etcheverry, Lorenzo Sonego
Cold: Miomir Kecmanovic, Sebastian Baez, Brandon Nakashima, Maxime Cressy, Mikael Ymer
Quarterfinal predictions: Taylor Fritz over Liam Broady, Lorenzo Sonego over Marc-Andrea Huesler, Nicolas Jarry over Brandon Nakashima, and Tommy Paul over Luca Van Assche
Semifinals: Fritz over Sonego and Jarry over Paul
Final: Fritz over Jarry
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who ya got?
Fritz over Paul, Tsitsi over Dfokina
Mannarino has played way too much tennis for his age. Needs a break before Wimbledon.
Mannarino has played way too much tennis for his age. Needs a break before Wimbledon.
Which is probably a good thing for Mannarino.