One of the final lead-ups on the road to Wimbledon is set to begin at the ATP Mallorca Open. The main draw action starts on Sunday with an exciting match-up between two rising stars and, as always, we here at LWOT are offering our previews and predictions for every match. But who will book their place in the second round?
ATP Mallorca Day 1 Predictions
Mackenzie McDonald vs Joao Sousa
Head-to-head: McDonald 2-1 Sousa
Both players have had previous good results on grass even though it has not gone well for them these past few weeks on the surface. McDonald, who reached the final 16 at Wimbledon in 2018, has at least faced some tougher opposition, his losses coming to Ilya Ivashka and Felix Auger-Aliassime. Sousa, who made it to the fourth round a year later, has struggled on grass the past two years.
A 2-5 record last season was disappointing but going 0-2 this season with two losses to Radu Albot has surpassed it. The two have only faced each other on slower surfaces, first at Indian Wells in 2019 before back-to-back match-ups this year in Madrid and Rome qualifying. McDonald has won two of those and considering his level this grass season has been higher than that of the Portuguese veteran, the American should be the favorite.
Prediction: McDonald in 2
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Jaume Munar vs Aslan Karatsev
Head-to-head: Karatsev 2-1 Munar
A match-up between two players who are having opposite seasons though they share a miserable record on grass. Munar, 32-14 on the year, is coming off of his second Challenger title of the year, winning in Perugia despite not playing his best tennis. It is a different story for him on grass though, the Spaniard still waiting on his first career victory on the surface despite already playing eight grass events. Karatsev’s 2-8 record on the grass is not much better, especially considering the wins came over Aldin Setkic and Alejandro Tabilo. The Russian is having a miserable season overall since leaving Australia though, winning just one in his last ten matches. This is a great opportunity for Munar to do good on his wildcard here and finally earn his debut win on grass.
Prediction: Munar in 3
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Alex Molcan vs Miomir Kecmanovic
Head-to-head: first meeting
After breaking through to the main tour last season, Molcan has established himself well. The 24-year-old has not only managed to reach finals in Marrakech and Lyon but also pulled off a great coaching coup, now having Marian Vajda in his corner. Kecmanovic has also taken another step this season, producing some very solid runs, such as the fourth round in Australia and quarterfinals in Indian Wells and Miami. Molcan lacks experience on grass with this being just his third tournament on the surface.
The Slovak came close to qualifying for Wimbledon last year and lost in the first round of Halle last week to Tallon Griekspoor. Kecmanovic reached one of his two main tour finals on grass, falling to Lorenzo Sonego at the final hurdle at Antalya 2019. The Serb does not regularly get grass wins outside of that run though. I am leaning towards Molcan here despite his lack of experience, though we should expect a tight match.
Prediction: Molcan in 3
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