The ATP Tour returns to Eastbourne, Great Britain, for the 12th consecutive year as 28 men look to fine-tune their grass game as they prepare for Wimbledon. The Rothesay International features a field with five Top 30 players, including No. 2 seed Tommy Paul. The American starts his Eastbourne campaign against Argentine youngster Sebastian Baez. We at LWOT have the preview and prediction for that match and all other happenings around the grounds of Eastbourne, including four matches in a different article. But who will advance?
ATP Eastbourne Day 3 Predictions
Maxime Cressy vs Zhizhen Zhang
Head-to-Head: first meeting
Maxime Cressy broke an 11-match losing streak on Tuesday when he took down Daniel Galan 6-4 7-5. The American serve-and-volleyer was 11-4 on the grass last season and is always a threat on this surface due to his style of play. He takes on Zhizhen Zhang in Round 2. The 26-year-old Chinese picked up a massive first-round victory over Lorenzo Sonego. It was his first career tour-level win on grass. Zhang has shown he can hang against big servers, but I trust Cressy more on the grass. The American is a dark horse to make it to the weekend.
Prediction: Cressy in 2
J.J. Wolf vs Luca Van Assche
Head-to-Head: first meeting
American J.J. Wolf will square off against qualifier Luca Van Assche with a spot in the Eastbourne quarterfinals on the line. A win here would send the 19-year-old Frenchman to his first ATP quarterfinal. His fluid game should allow him to succeed on all surfaces. That said, playing on grass is a learning curve, and Van Assche will have trouble with Wolf’s power. The 24-year-old American bombed nine serves in his Round 1 victory and should again find success from the service line.
Prediction: Wolf in 2
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Francisco Cerundolo vs Marc-Andrea Huesler
Head-to-Head: Cerundolo 1-0 Huesler
No. 4 seed Francisco Cerundolo opens his Eastbourne campaign against 27-year-old qualifier Marc-Andrea Huesler. The Swiss has yet to drop a set in three matches this week, but came to Eastbourne having won just two matches since the start of April. Cerundolo is up to a career-high ranking of world No. 19 and had a dominant clay season. He does not have much experience on the grass, but with his consistency, I’d be surprised if he dropped his level against an out-of-form player like Huesler.
Prediction: Cerundolo in 2
Tommy Paul vs Sebastian Baez
Head-to-Head: first meeting
No. 2 seed Tommy Paul squares off against Sebastian Baez for the first time with a spot in the Eastbourne quarterfinals on the line. Paul had a tremendous start to the season but is just 3-8 in tour-level main draw matches dating back to late March. Baez picked up a solid 6-3 6-4 Round 1 victory over Nuno Borges but has minimal experience on the grass. I favor Paul’s aggressiveness and much improved serve to outlast Baez in this battle.
Prediction: Paul in 3
Main Photo Credit: Mike Frey-USA TODAY Sports
