There is plenty of excitement at the ATP Eastbourne International ahead of the second round. The day is headlined by two battles between British and American players with a host of other talented players in action and, as ever, we here at LWOT will be offering our previews and predictions for every match, including Tommy Paul vs Jannik Sinner. But who will advance?
ATP Eastbourne Day 3 Predictions
Cameron Norrie vs Brandon Nakashima
Head-to-head: Norrie 1-1 Nakashima
Norrie has had an excellent start to the season and has been one of the pleasant surprises of the last year and a half. He took a bit of a break so this is just his second match on grass this year. Nakashima has a little less experience on the surface but his high-energy game has translated well. Both players have a strong serve so winning key return points will be key. Nakashima beat two fellow Americans and good grass court players in qualifying here, and in his three matches has been broken just once.
He is looking to build on back-to-back quarterfinals including the Surbiton Challenger. This match could go either way, Norrie is the better player, but Nakashima is fully accustomed to grass at this point while Norrie is still getting a feel for the surface. Since a few key break points and tiebreaks will likely decide the match, the rust for Norrie will make a difference and Nakashima will pull off the upset in a tight battle.
Prediction: Nakashima in 3
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Dan Evans vs Maxime Cressy
Head-to-head: Evans 2-1 Cressy
This will surely be another competitive match but more of a clash of styles. Cressy has a huge serve that has helped him to play well on grass courts in his young career. None of their previous meetings have come on grass, with Evans winning both their hard court matchups. Evans showed his grass court abilities by winning the Nottingham Challenger and winning his first round match here without dropping serve.
He will have to serve well against the powerful Cressy who is both hard to break and managed to break Reilly Opelka four times in his first round match in Eastbourne and showed a willingness to take risks when returning. Evans’ experience on grass will give him a slight edge, and he will have to rely on his serve to put Cressy under pressure. Evans is talented enough on return that he will get to Cressy’s serve just enough to win the key return games and take the match.
Prediction: Evans in 3
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Alexander Bublik vs John Millman
Head-to-head: first meeting
Neither player has done much during the grass season to this point, with both players looking to improve their form on the year. Millman has finally begun to show his age with a disappointing 2022 to date. The Australian has been average on grass in the past, and though he scored a nice win in round one against Sebastian Korda, the American revealed post-match that he has been dealing with injuries preventing him from playing Wimbledon.
Bublik has had a couple decent wins on grass so far, and his two losses were two strong grass court players. That is no surprise as his game is well-suited to the surface. Bublik has a strong serve which will be a good weapon on grass, especially against Millman who does not move as well as he used to. Bublik will hold serve and use his shot-making skills to prevent Millman from getting into a rhythm to win convincingly.
Prediction: Bublik in 2
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Diego Schwartzman vs Jack Draper
Head-to-head: first meeting
Schwartzman has been surprisingly strong on grass historically, but lost his lone match of the season on the surface in straight sets without even having a break point. Draper has had mixed results on grass this year, but has scored two strong wins against Jenson Brooksby and Taylor Fritz. Draper has had a great year so far, closing in on the top-100 and sitting at 61st in the race rankings. He will have to rely on his serve to get past Schwartzman which is always a tough task, but will be the easiest to do on grass.
Draper, meanwhile, is an exciting young player and will have the crowd on his side, just as he did during his career-best win last season at Queen’s Club against Jannik Sinner. Schwartzman will not make it easy, the gritty Argentine never does, but Draper looks comfortable on grass and will avoid the long rallies that Schwartzman loves to take control of the match. With his forehand a real weapon, expect him to get the better of Schwartzman and reach the quarterfinals.
Prediction: Draper in 3
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