This week on the ATP Tour, the world’s best aim to bring their top grass-court level to a pair of ATP 250 events in Eastbourne and Mallorca.
Home favourite Cameron Norrie headlines the draw at the Rothesay International in Eastbourne, where Jannik Sinner, defending champion Alex de Minaur and 2019 titlist Taylor Fritz are also chasing success on the English south coast from 20-25 June.
Daniil Medvedev defends his crown at the Mallorca Championships, taking place on the Balearic island from 19-25 June. Those trying to stop the World No. 1 in Spain include Stefanos Tsitsipas, Denis Shapovalov and the in-form Nick Kyrgios.
ATPTour.com looks ahead at five things to watch at each event.
View Draws: Eastbourne | Mallorca
FIVE THINGS TO WATCH IN EASTBOURNE
1) Norrie & Sinner Headline: Norrie is the top seed in Eastbourne, where the World No. 11 seeks to bounce back from an opening-round defeat to Grigor Dimitrov at The Queen’s Club last week. The British No. 1 reached the quarter-finals in 2018 and arrives in Eastbourne boasting an impressive 26-14 record for 2022, including two ATP Tour titles.
Sinner is seeded second in his first tournament since retiring from his Roland Garros quarter-final against Andrey Rublev due to a left knee injury. The Italian is making his Eastbourne debut as he hunts his maiden grass-court crown and his first title in 2022.
2) De Minaur Defends Crown: The Australian picked up his fifth tour-level title in Eastbourne last year by defeating Lorenzo Sonego in the championship match. De Minaur is seeded sixth this time around on the English south coast, as he seeks improved results after just one win across two tournaments in ‘s-Hertogenbosch and London.
3) Fritz Heads American Charge: Another former champion, Taylor Fritz, leads a strong squad of Americans in Eastbourne. The World No. 14 fell at the first hurdle in ‘s-Hertogenbosch and London but the third seed arrives with a 21-10 record for the season as he seeks his second title of 2022 at a tournament where he lifted the trophy in 2019.
Fritz is joined in the draw by countrymen Tommy Paul, Frances Tiafoe, Sebastian Korda and Jenson Brooksby, as well as fifth seed Reilly Opelka, who opens against another American in Maxime Cressy.
4) Draper, Evans Lead British Hopes: As well as Norrie, World No. 31 Daniel Evans and #NextGenATP contender Jack Draper will be among those enjoying home support as they attempt to become the first British champion in Eastbourne since Greg Rusedski in 2003.
Evans was a quarter-finalist in 2021, while 20-year-old Draper will seek to back up his impressive defeat of Fritz in London last week with a strong showing on tournament debut. Wild card Ryan Peniston also made headlines at The Queen’s Club, clinching his maiden tour-level win against Casper Ruud and also defeating Francisco Cerundolo. The 26-year-old will hunt another upset in Eastbourne as he opens against eighth seed Holger Rune.
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5) Defending Champs Mektic/Pavic: Nikola Mektic and Mate Pavic seek to maintain their dominance on the grass courts of Great Britain as they defend their title in Eastbourne. The Croatian pairing also lifted the trophy at Wimbledon last year and are set to play for a third title together on the surface at the Cinch Championships on Sunday.
Their rivals in Eastbourne this week include second seeds and 2019 champions Juan Sebastian Cabal and Robert Farah, and Roland Garros finalists Ivan Dodig and Austin Krajicek.
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FIVE THINGS TO WATCH IN MALLORCA
1) Medvedev Defends Title: The World No. 1 clinched his maiden grass-court title on tournament debut in Mallorca last year and he has hit the ground running on the surface in 2022. Medvedev was a finalist in ‘s-Hertogenbosch a week ago and made it back-to-back ATP Tour finals this week at the Terra Wortmann Open in Halle, where he will play for his first title of the year against Hubert Hurkacz on Sunday.
2) Tsitsipas & Shapovalov Debuts: Second seed Stefanos Tsitsipas is 2-2 on grass this year but the Greek looked to have found his feet on the surface in Halle last week, despite a narrow second-round loss to Nick Kyrgios. The World No. 6 is making his debut in Mallorca, where he is chasing his second title of the year.
Another powerful 23-year-old, Denis Shapovalov, is seeking his first win of the year on grass as he makes his first appearance in Mallorca. The Canadian will hope to rediscover the form that took him to his maiden Grand Slam semi-final at Wimbledon in 2021.
3) Kyrgios To Kick On?: Kyrgios has looked in a confident mood in Germany in the past two weeks, reaching the semi-finals in Stuttgart and Halle. Despite narrow defeats to Andy Murray and Hubert Hurkacz in those respective final-four clashes, the big-serving Australian will be a major threat on tournament debut in Mallorca as he hunts his maiden tour-level crown on grass. Top seed Medvedev is a potential quarter-final opponent for the 27-year-old.
4) Spaniards Chase Home Success: Fourth seed Pablo Carreno Busta is the highest-ranked home hope in Mallorca, where he is chasing his first grass-court title. A semi-finalist in 2021, he can turn to countryman Feliciano Lopez for advice on how to go further on the surface — the wild card has won four of his seven tour-level titles on grass — while fifth seed Roberto Bautista Agut also has experience in that department, having lifted the trophy in ‘s-Hertogenbosch in 2014.
5) Arevalo/Rojer Top Seeds: Marcelo Arevalo and Jean-Julien Rojer’s eight-match winning streak was ended in the Halle semi-finals, but the El Salvadorian-Dutch pairing remains one of the form teams on the ATP Tour, having collected three titles since coming together at the start of the year. The Roland Garros champions are the top seeds in Mallorca, where their highest-ranked rivals are all-German duo Kevin Krawietz and Andreas Mies.