Three first round picks from Eastbourne today, and there's a potential upset in the mix that's worth paying attention to. Let's get into it.
Lexus Eastbourne Open Predictions
Zizou Bergs vs Jaume Antoni Munar Clar
Head-to-head: Bergs 0-1 Munar Clar
Their only meeting went to Munar Clar, and on grass the Spaniard's baseline consistency can really hold up, even if this isn't his natural surface. Bergs is a solid player and not someone you can dismiss easily, but he's been fairly quiet this season and hasn't shown much form on grass going into this week.
Munar Clar's ranking edge is small but he's the more rounded player right now, and I think he finds a way through in a close one.
Prediction: Clar in 3
Raphael Collignon vs Juan Manuel Cerundolo
Head-to-head: Collignon 0-2 Cerundolo
Cerundolo leads this H2H 2-0 and is ranked higher, so on paper this looks straightforward. But Cerundolo is a clay specialist through and through, and grass is genuinely tough for him, while Collignon at 51 in the world is no pushover on a faster surface. That 0-2 record, almost certainly on clay or hard courts where Cerundolo is far more at home, makes this feel like a different conversation entirely.
The surface flips the script enough here that Collignon is the pick.
Prediction: Collignon in 3
Brandon Nakashima vs Jack Draper
Head-to-head: Nakashima 1-3 Draper
Draper leads the H2H and has looked genuinely dangerous on grass in the past, but he's currently ranked 113 in the world after a rough run with injuries and that's not a number you can ignore. Nakashima is seeded here for a reason, playing some of the most consistent tennis of his career and Draper just hasn't had the match time to be at full sharpness.
That said, Draper has the grass game to make things awkward, but Nakashima wins this comfortably.
Prediction: Nakashima in 2
For full predictions on ATP and WTA matches today, check out Uppset.
Credit Image: © Dennis Agyeman/AFP7 via ZUMA Press Wire