Andy Schooler previews the last Wimbledon warm-up events which take place this week in Eastbourne and Mallorca.
Tennis betting tips: ATP Tour
2pts win Taylor Fritz in the Lexus Eastbourne Open at 7/2 (General)
0.5pt e.w. Lorenzo Sonego in the Lexus Eastbourne Open at 50/1 (General)
1pt e.w. Roberto Bautista Agut in the Mallorca Championships at 20/1 (Betfred)
0.5pt e.w. Arthur Rinderknech in the Mallorca Championships at 22/1 (General)
Sky Bet odds | Paddy Power | Betfair Sportsbook
Lexus Eastbourne Open
- Eastbourne, England, Great Britain (outdoor grass)
You don’t often see the world number four playing the week before a Grand Slam tournament but TAYLOR FRITZ is among the field in Eastbourne.
The American clearly likes to play in this week – he’s been a regular in Sussex in this week of the calendar, playing in five of the last six years.
He’s won the title on three of those five appearances and racked up a 13-2 record at the tournament.
Having won in Stuttgart recently, he’s in good form on the grass and while some will highlight his early loss at Queen’s Club last week to Corentin Moutet, I’d suggest that makes it even more likely that he’ll want to do well here and get more matches under his belt before heading to Wimbledon.
Fritz is the defending champion (he also won here in 2022 and 2019) and, as top seed, he gets a first-round bye so will only need to win four matches in order to lift the trophy once again at Devonshire Park.
I’m a little surprised, therefore, that he’s on offer at 7/2 and while I’m not usually a backer of favourites, it makes sense to do so here.
I’ve written before about the type of player who you want to be backing in weeks such as these.
There may well be players in the field who want a few more matches, but not necessarily a full week of tennis, ahead of Wimbledon. Don’t be surprised to see a few withdrawals or half-hearted performances.
You want to be siding with players who should be fully motivated about this tournament and not those with one eye on what’s to follow.
A track record for performing in the week before a Slam certainly helps – Fritz clearly has this, while another man who does in the bottom half of the draw is LORENZO SONEGO.
The Italian won his very first ATP title in this week of the season back in 2019 when he triumphed on the grass of Antalya and last year he added another in the week before the US Open at Winston-Salem.
He’s also reached the final here before, in 2021, which means three of his six ATP finals have come in the week before a Grand Slam.
To me, that suggests this is a player who very much feels this week is an opportunity rather than a hindrance.
He’s got a decent serve which he’s been able to use well on the slicker surfaces in the past.
And while he’s struggled for form since an excellent run at the Australian Open at the start of the season, there were encouraging signs in Halle last week where he pushed Alex Zverev all the way to a final-set tie-break before losing in the last 16.
Here, Sonego opens against Fabian Marozsan, who won only five games in defeat to Tomas Machac last week, with the winner of that facing Ugo Humbert.
I once again managed to back Humbert at the wrong time last week at Queen’s Club where he lost his opener against Denis Shapovalov and I’m clearly now worried he’ll shine a week too late.
It’s more than possible and Humbert will have his backers at 10/1, but Sonego does have three wins in seven meetings with the Frenchman and I just feel he’s overpriced at 50/1 given how well he’s performed in these weeks in the past.
Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard is the other seed in this section but he’s not done anything of note on the grass in the past couple of weeks despite his massive serve, while potential semi-final opponents include second seed Tommy Paul and Halle finalist Alexander Bublik.
However, Paul is playing his first grasscourt tournament in a year and could find Dan Evans an awkward customer in his opening match, while I think it’s unlikely that Bublik is going to reach back-to-back finals given his mentality
Mallorca Championships
- Santa Ponsa, Mallorca, Spain (outdoor grass)
It’s going to be blisteringly hot in Mallorca this week, a factor which may make it even easier for players to decide a full week of tennis isn’t what they need ahead of Wimbledon.
You have to question whether playing in the Balearic Islands on Saturday is the best way to prepare for the Grand Slam in south-west London so I’m not at all convinced that players who will be aiming for a deep run at Wimbledon will be busting a gut to win this title.
In this bracket, I’m thinking Ben Shelton and Felix Auger-Aliassime, the top two seeds.
Shelton is just 1-2 at this event and last year managed to lose to British qualifier Paul Jubb.
Auger-Aliassime, meanwhile, will be making his debut here where the courts tend to offer a higher bounce than their UK counterparts and therefore conditions tend to be a bit slower.
I certainly don’t want to back either man at a short price so instead will try to find some value further down the market.
This is a tournament which has been won by Alejandro Tabilo and Christopher Eubanks at decent prices in the past two years.
Both men had their eye on this prize rather than Wimbledon and I’m wanting someone similarly motivated onside here.
I’d suggest ROBERTO BAUTISTA AGUT will be.
This is a player from the host nation, one who has delivered here in the past.
RBA made the final here in 2022 and has also reached two quarter-finals since the inaugural tournament in 2021.
Notably, he’s from the Valencia area, which isn’t far away at all, so he shouldn’t be too concerned by the heat.
He’s also in great form following a run to the Queen’s Club semi-finals last week where he beat seeds Holger Rune and Jakub Mensik.
At the age of 37, he’ll know he probably won’t have too many chances to add to his 12 ATP titles and this week looks to offer such an opportunity.
Bautista Agut is another player with a strong track record of success in these ‘pre-Slam’ weeks, indeed he won in this week in the calendar when the Den Bosch tournament was scheduled in it.
He’s also won at Winston-Salem directly before the US Open and twice in Auckland ahead of the Australian Open.
In more recent times, the Spaniard was runner-up in Adelaide ahead of the 2023 Australian Open, as well as that final run here in 2022.
I also like RBA’s draw – the other seed in his quarter is Alex Michelsen, while I’m not sure Shelton will be around for any semi-final – the top seed could be vulnerable against rising German star Justin Engel if they meet in what would be Shelton’s first match of the week.
In short, there are plenty of reasons to like Bautista Agut this week and I’m happy to back him at 20/1.
In the bottom half, I’m going to take a small punt on ARTHUR RINDERKNECH, who could be Auger-Aliassime’s first opponent.
The Canadian is very hit and miss – after a strong start to the season, he lost seven of eight from February to April.
While things have steadied of late, the grasscourt season hasn’t brought the success he would have liked – a semi-final defeat in Stuttgart was disappointing and was followed by defeat in the last 16 in Halle to Karen Khachanov. Overall, he’s gone just 3-2.
The lower-ranked Rinderknech is also 3-2 at tour level on this surface so far this season, claiming some notable scalps.
He beat Denis Shapovalov in Stuttgart and both Shelton and Reilly Opelka at Queen’s Club where Carlos Alcaraz eventually proved too good in the last eight.
Rinderknech’s big first serve is a real weapon on this surface and I’m pretty sure he’ll be looking to continue his good form as long as possible by going deep this week.
Interestingly, the Frenchman’s only ATP final came in the week before a Slam – in Adelaide in 2022 – and I reckon he’s worth chancing at 22/1.
Posted at 2130 BST on 22/06/25
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