Tennis - ATP & WTA Calendar: Eastbourne, Majorca, Bad Homburg... Discover this week's tournaments and our favorites!
by Tyler Doty | by Tyler Doty
It's the last week of preparation before the legendary Wimbledon tournament (our Wimbledon prediction is already available).
The world's best male and female players will be resting quietly, while the other members of the tour will be trying to gain confidence and score valuable points. This week will be a great opportunity to see some new faces shine.
ATP Mallorca: Players in the spotlight on Spanish grass
The Mallorca Open is an ATP 250 tournament, and some players will be keen to build up their confidence ahead of Wimbledon. As we enter the final week of preparation before the London Grand Slam, the top players are resting, which opens up opportunities for the rest of the tour. We'll have a top-seeded American in Ben Shelton and two seeded Frenchmen, Ugo Humbert and Adrian Mannarino, among the tournament favorites.
The two Frenchies will be seeded 2 and 3, but have not been at their best in these grass-court preparation tournaments. The Moselle native lost his first two rounds, while the "divine bald one" won just one match in two tournaments. The field is wide open, which is perfect for boosting confidence!
Ben Shelton is the number 1 seed in this tournament, but he hasn't been very good in his first matches on grass. He lost his first two rounds to Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard and James Duckworth. While the American is very good on his serve, this is far less the case on his return, where he has only had one break point in two matches...
Our ATP Mallorca prediction: Mannarino reaches the final!
ATP Eastbourne: Bublik's awakening?
We're in for a great tournament all week long at Eastbourne, with some excellent grass-court players. We'll be joined by 4 top 20 players including Taylor Fritz, Tommy Paul and Alexander Bublik. It's going to be a very competitive event and it's hard to pick a favorite.
We think Tommy Paul and Alexander Bublik will start with a big advantage. Indeed, both players are very good on this surface, as witnessed by the American's success last week at Queen's. The world number 13 lost just one set in five matches, which is a very fine performance. We'll have to wait and see how fit he is, and whether he has enough energy for another week of high-level tennis.
For his part, the Kazakh has been less in the limelight over the last two weeks, failing to progress beyond the quarter-finals. The unpredictability of this player is well known, and we hope to see the best of him.
The number 1 seed, Taylor Fritz, will also have a great card to play. He's never performed well on grass, but has won two titles on this surface, both at... Eastbourne. In other words, he's familiar with the scene and could be a formidable opponent.
Our ATP Eastbourne prediction: Fritz reaches the final
WTA Eastbourne: Keys still the queen at Eastbourne?
The Eastbourne tournament is the most important of the week, with a good number of points at stake. We'll be keeping a close eye on this one, as there will be plenty of top players in the field throughout the week. In particular, there will be three players in the top 10 (Rybakina, Paolini and Pegula). It's sure to be a hotly contested tournament, with everyone keen to make their mark before the start of the London Grand Slam.
Jessica Pegula will be one of the tournament favorites. Indeed, she is coming off a magnificent success last week in Berlin. The American won all 4 of her matches against members of the top 40, and in particular defeated the world's number 2, Coco Gauff (7-5 7-6). However, it may not be easy for Jessica Pegula.
Another player to keep an eye on is Madison Keys, an excellent grass-court player. Last season, the American won the Eastbourne tournament and lost in the Wimbledon quarter-finals. Over the course of her career, the former world No. 7 has had over 70% success on this surface. With that in mind, Madison Keys is a clear favorite!
On the other hand, the skies are less bright for the tournament's number 1 seed, Elena Rybakina. The Kazakh player retired last week in her quarter-final. We quickly realized that something was wrong. The WTA said the withdrawal was due to abdominal pain, but we have no further details.
Our WTA Eastbourne prediction: Keys reaches the final
WTA Bad Homburg: Sakkari headlines Bad Homburg
The week in Bad Homburg promises to be a particularly pleasant one, with some great matches in store. In the second round, we're likely to see a huge clash between Katerina Siniakova, the defending champion and an excellent grass-court player, and Liudmila Samsonova, the number 2 seed and winner of the S-Hertogenbosch title a fortnight ago. Whoever wins this duel will have a great opportunity to win this tournament.
And let's not forget Maria Sakkari, seeded number 1. However, the Greek doesn't really have any great references on grass and has never even won a title on this surface. Despite her ranking, she's not a favorite, but she could still be a spoilsport.
Our WTA Bad Homburg prediction: Siniakova wins the tournament
