Tsitsipas, Fritz among those playing the week before Wimbledon

The weeks immediately preceding Grand Slams are generally softer than others when it comes to draw strength, and for the most part the upcoming proceedings in Eastbourne and Mallorca are no exception.

That being said, both tournaments have plenty to offer–at least for now. Barring withdrawals (of which there could be many), among those taking the court this coming week are Stefanos Tsitsipas, Alejandro Davidovich Fokina, Alexander Bublik, Taylor Fritz, Tommy Paul, Alex de Minaur, and Francisco Cerundolo.

Tsitsipas is the top seed at the Mallorca Championships ahead of Davidovich Fokina, while Ben Shelton and Adrian Mannarino also have first-round byes. Bublik is a withdrawal candidate, as he currently finds himself in the Halle final against Andrey Rublev. Of course, this is the Kazakh’s favorite time of year and he may not want to pass up any opportunity to play on grass. Bublik could face Jason Kubler in round two, Shelton in the quarterfinals, and Davidovich Fokina in the semis.

Also taking their talents to Mallorca are Richard Gasquet, Jordan Thompson, Feliciano Lopez, and Yannick Hanfmann.

At the Rothesay International, Fritz and Paul lead the way for the American contingent as the top two seeds. They are joined in the bracket by four compatriots, including Maxime Cressy–who can be especially dangerous on grass. Cressy, who opens with Botic van de Zandschulp, is in a relatively difficult quarter of the bracket that also features Cerundolo and Lorenzo Sonego. Elsewhere in the top half, Fritz and Nicolas Jarry are on a collision course for the quarterfinals.

Other first-round matchups to watch in Eastbourne are Miomir Kecmanovic vs. Yibing Wu, Tomas Martin Etcheverry vs. J.J. Wolf, and Emil Ruusuvuori vs. Gregoire Barrere.