ATP Mallorca Open is one of the two tournaments which is played a week before The Championships at Wimbledon. Dominic Thiem will play his last tournament on grass and there are also other exciting players and matches to look forward to. As always, we here at LWOT will offer our predictions for every match on the slate for Day 2. But who will advance to the second round?
ATP Mallorca Day 2 Predictions
Luca Nardi vs Rinky Hijikata
Head-to-Head: First meeting
Luca Nardi is playing his first season on grass and will be happy to get a win already against David Goffin. He lost a close match in Queen’s and is still figuring grass out. Rinky Hijikata played a brilliant tournament at the Queen’s Club last week and made a big jump in the rankings. He wants to replicate that performance and secure his first win at the Mallorca Open Championships. Nardi can be good on the grass in the future, but right now, he has a lot to learn.
Prediction: Hijikata in 3
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Alexander Shevchenko vs Constant Lestienne
Head-to-Head: First meeting
Alexander Shevchenko has played only one main draw match on grass, but he has all the tools to be a good player on this surface. He has an aggressive style with flat strokes and a good serve. The worrying thing for him is that he can leak errors, and on grass, they will cost him the match. Constant Lestienne breezed through his qualifying without dropping a set. If he can stay patient and take care of his service games, he has a chance to get under the skin of Shevchenko. Shevchenko is still figuring out the grass and will be prone to making errors.
Prediction: Lestienne in 3
Dominic Thiem vs Gael Monfils
Head-to-Head: Thiem 6-0 Monfils
Dominic Thiem injured his wrist at this tournament in 2021 and never fully recovered from it. This is the last tournament on grass for the former US Open champion, as he has stated that he is retiring this year. Grass has never been his best surface, but he has a title on it. Thiem is not playing Wimbledon, which means he is here to gain closure where he suffered trauma in his life and career.
Gael Monfils has never beaten Thiem in his career, with their most recent meeting coming at the Australian Open in 2020, but they have never met on grass before. Monfils has shown some signs of his old self this season, and with Thiem nowhere near his best, this is the best chance for the Frenchman to get a win over the Austrian.
Prediction: Monfils in 2
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Main Photo Credit: Jerry Lai – USA TODAY Sports
