And just like that, Wimbledon is only one week away. Just two more grass-court tournaments in the buildup to the year’s third Grand Slam remain, taking place in Eastbourne and Mallorca.
Although many of top players in the world have already taken their talents to the All-England Club for a week of rest and practice, these two ATP 250 tournaments are actually quite strong. Among those in action are Taylor Fritz, Joao Fonseca, Jack Draper, Frances Tiafoe, Nick Kyrgios, Grigor Dimitrov, and Stefanos Tsitsipas.
Let’s break down the two draws.
Eastbourne Open
Where: Eastbourne, Great Britain
Surface: Grass
Prize money: 773,465 Euros
Points: 250
Top seed: Taylor Fritz
Defending champion: Taylor Fritz
Draw analysis: Now that Rafael Nadal (French Open) and John Isner (Atlanta) have retired, no current player dominates any tournament quite like Fritz in Eastbourne. The ninth-ranked American has won the title four times in his last five appearances. Fritz finished runner-up in Stuttgart and currently finds himself in the Halle final, so you might think that he would skip Eastbourne in advance of Wimbledon. But nobody loves playing matches — and dislikes resting — more than this guy. It’s almost impossible to see him withdrawing from his favorite tournament — especially when he needs all the ranking points he can get following an injury-plagued first half of the season.
The top seed’s draw is good one, as nobody else in his quarter is playing well at the moment or particularly skilled on grass. The Cerundolo brothers are potential semifinal opponents for Fritz, although Juan Manuel — despite being seeded eighth — is a considerable underdog against Raphael Collignon in round one. On the other side of the bracket, Draper and Queen’s Club semifinalist Brandon Nakashima are set for a first-round showdown. Whoever wins should be able to reach the semis before running into either Fonseca, Ugo Humbert, Mattia Bellucci, or Jenson Brooksby.
Hot: Taylor Fritz, Francisco Cerundolo, Arthur Fery, Raphael Collignon
Cold: Jack Draper, Jenson Brooksby, Gabriel Diallo, Alexei Popyrin
Quarterfinal predictions: Taylor Fritz over Jaume Munar, Arthur Fery over Jake Fearnley, Brandon Nakashima over Gabriel Diallo, and Mattia Bellucci over Joao Fonseca
Semifinals: Fritz over Fery and Nakashima over Bellucci
Final: Fritz over Nakashima
Mallorca Championships
Where: Mallorca, Spain
Surface: Grass
Prize money: 612,620 Euros
Points: 250
Top seed: Luciano Darderi
2025 champion: Tallon Griekspoor (not playing)
Draw analysis: This field is not top heavy at all (Luciano Darderi is the No. 1 seed), but the unseeded contingent could make things quite interesting. It includes Kyrgios, Dimitrov, Tsitsipas, Martin Landaluce, Marton Fucsovics, Miomir Kecmanovic, and Hamad Medjedovic. Both Kyrgios and Dimitrov are in the bottom quarter of the draw and could go head-to-head in the last eight. Of course, neither veteran can be expected to make it that far. Whoever wins the first-round matchup between Kecmanovic and Medjedovic could be in line to make a run in Mallorca.
Near the top of the bracket, grass-court guru Adrian Mannarino will kick off his campaign against Nuno Borges before possibly meeting Landaluce in round two and Darderi in the last eight. Elsewhere in the top half, Tsitsipas will get started against No. 5 seed Ignacio Buse — who was last month’s Hamburg champion. Tiafoe is the No. 3 seed in that quarter, although the American’s participation could be in doubt following his success in Halle.
Hot: Luciano Darderi, Frances Tiafoe, Ignacio Buse, Vit Kopriva, Martin Landaluce, Adolfo Daniel Vallejo
Cold: Alejandro Davidovich Fokina, Nick Kyrgios, Grigor Dimitrov, Stefanos Tsitsipas, Lorenzo Sonego
Quarterfinal predictions: Adrian Mannarino over Yannick Hanfmann, Ethan Quinn over Stefanos Tsitsipas, Alejandro Tabilo over Miomir Kecmanovic, and Alejandro Davidovich Fokina over Marton Fucsovics
Semifinals: Mannarino over Quinn and Davidovich Fokina over Tabilo
Final: Mannarino over Davidovich Fokina