Adrian Mannarino is the only seed remaining in Mallorca as semifinal Friday looms large on the tournament schedule. Manarino awaits Yannick Hanfmann, while Chris Eubanks battles Lloyd Harris.
(4) Adrian Mannarino vs. Yannick Hanfmann
It’s safe to say that Mannarino is up to his usual tricks on grass. This part of the season is always the 34-year-old’s favorite and the Mallorca Championships mark his third consecutive event in which he has reached at least the quarterfinals. Mannarino currently finds himself in the semis following victories over Guido Pella and Corentin Moutet (he also got first-round bye as the No. 4 seed).
Up next for the Frenchman on Friday is a first-ever meeting with Hanfmann. Although the 48th-ranked German is playing well, he has faced a clay-court specialist in Pedro Cachin, a very out-of-form Stefanos Tsitsipas, and a 41-year-old Feliciano Lopez. Hanfmann is certainly an all-court player, but he has always been most comfortable on clay. Mannarino will likely be too tough for him on grass.
Pick: Mannarino in 2
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Chris Eubanks vs. (Q) Lloyd Harris
Surprisingly, Eubanks and Harris are extremely familiar foes heading into their semifinal showdown in Mallorca. Although they have faced each other only once in an ATP main draw, Harris leads the overall head-to-head series 4-2–including via a 3-6, 6-1, 6-4 decision at the 2021 ATP 250 in San Diego. However, they just recently squared off at the Gwangju Challenger last month and Eubanks prevailed 7-6(3), 4-6, 6-4.
Eubanks should like his chances even more on grass, since he can keep the points as short as possible. The 77th-ranked American has been doing just that this week, wielding his big serve to perfection while beating Alex Michelsen, Ben Shelton (in a third-set tiebreaker), and Arthur Rinderknech. Harris successfully came through qualifying and then defeated Bernabe Zapata Miralles, Roman Safiullin, and Pavel Kotov all in straight sets. This is a huge match for both players and could easily go either way, but Eubanks has been doing a lot more winning of the two in 2023 and he should be confident based on both the surface and his recent result against Harris.
Pick: Eubanks in 3
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WWW?
hanfmann in 3, Harris in 3
Mrino in 3; Eubanks in 3.
Lloyd Harris wins.
and Handfmann wins in 3 also.
Which is probably a good thing for Mannarino.
nice pick Ricky. Impressive
congratulations to me
That’s a master stroke given Eubanks saved 5 MPs