Wimbledon is coming but before we get there, we also have a couple of ATP events in Eastbourne and Mallorca. The local crowd will be hoping that Bernabe Zapata Miralles claims his opening round against Lloyd Harris, but it will be a tough one with the conditions suiting the South African a lot more. Who do you think will come out on top? We also look at the rest of the day’s matches in a separate article.
ATP Mallorca Day 2 Predictions
Roman Safiullin vs Abdullah Shelbayh
Head-to-head: First meeting
Both players qualified for this event with a marathon win on Sunday. Abdullah Shelbayh stopped Arthur Rinderknech and once again showed how he can utilize his craftiness on the grass. Roman Safiullin was involved in a thriller with James McCabe and certainly could have been less up-and-down. He’ll need to come to this match with more discipline to hit through Shelbayh, who knows how to make the opponent uncomfortable. It’s grass though, so let’s give the tiny edge to the big hitter.
Prediction: Safiullin in 3
Alex Michelsen vs Christopher Eubanks
Head-to-head: First meeting
Alex Michelsen could be a great player in a few years and the soon-to-be collegian (University of Georgia) is developing at a very rapid pace now. He also seems to be quickly finding his footing on the grass courts. In the qualifying here, he lost a tight match with Lloyd Harris, but got the call-up as a lucky loser. Christopher Eubanks might actually be forced to work in this one with his ground game usually not being at its sharpest when the bounce is low and there’s not much time to produce the strokes.
Prediction: Michelsen in 3
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Bernabe Zapata Miralles vs Lloyd Harris
Head-to-head: First meeting
Lloyd Harris has had some seriously unlucky draws recently and it’s making his comeback progress at a much slower pace. It might be about to change as he certainly won’t be complaining about this particular opening round. Bernabe Zapata Miralles qualified for Wimbledon two years in a row but on both occasions, the paths were kinda soft. The Spaniard isn’t as poor on grass as some other clay-court specialists, but if Harris wants to get back to the top of the sport, he has to be winning matches like this.
Prediction: Harris in 2
Main Photo Credit: Andy Abeyta/The Desert Sun/USAToday Sports
