Players are gearing up for Wimbledon at the ATP Mallorca Championships this week. With half of the second round matches completed, eight more men will fight on Wednesday for a place in the quarterfinals. Who will advance to the quarterfinals? We present our thoughts as some exciting matches are on the cards.
ATP Mallorca Championships 4 Predictions
Lukas Klein vs Jordan Thompson
Klein has only played a few competitive matches in his short career, but he has impressed in his first match ever on grass in the previous round. The Slovakian is a hard-hitting baseliner, albeit poor at the net. The big-serving Australian might just be able to pull this off as experience comes into play. Expect a close contest with the higher-ranked Australian coming through on the quick grass.
Prediction: Thompson in 2
Pablo Carreno Busta vs Jiri Vesely
This is a clash of opposites. The big-serving Czech made easy work of Salvatore Caruso in the first round. He has a decent grass record, but Vesely has not defeated a top 20 player on this surface in a long time. Carreno Busta is a clay-court specialist who has played very few competitive matches on the green surface. Vesely has been very inconsistent this year, and is a bad mover on the court. Although grass is not his forte, the Spaniard has a pretty strong win-loss record overall, and having won their last encounter in Melbourne this year, he should see himself through.
Prediction: Carreno Busta in 2
Stefano Travaglia vs Roberto Bautista Agut
This should be some match. Travaglia surprised Guido Pella in the Round of 32. The Italian is getting better by the day. He plays the typical Italian baseline game, equally menacing on both forehand and backhand. Travaglia also mixes the slice and the drop shot into the game effectively.
Bautista is heading into Mallorca following a gloomy start to the grass season, losing to Sebastian Korda in Halle. That said, he boasts of a solid 70% W-L record on this surface. The veteran 10th seed can expect a tough fight from the young Italian. Although the Spaniard has not been at his best this season, Travaglia might not have the goods to upset him nonetheless.
Prediction: Bautista Agut in 3
Sam Querrey vs Ugo Humbert
Their only meeting was on grass last week, where the Frenchman prevailed. Humbert is on a roll through what has been a career-defining week and a half. His six-match winning streak includes upsets of the likes of Alexander Zverev, Andrey Rublev, and Felix Auger-Aliassime. On the other hand, Querrey is going through a rough patch and is only a tad as good as he was at his peak. On grass though, he is a strong player in his own right. The American has the game to break the Frenchman, but his impressive record on the surface might not prove good enough for Humbert. The 22-year-old has come of age, and he may have an upper hand given the form he is in. Both slogged away in their first round matches. I see the Frenchman edging past the American as long as he is not fatigued.
Prediction: Humbert in 3
Main Photo from Getty.
