A few second round picks from Mallorca today, and there's at least one result here that's going to raise some eyebrows. Grass changes things, and we might be about to see exactly how much.
Mallorca Championships Predictions
Luciano Darderi vs Yannick Hanfmann
Head-to-head: Darderi 5-0 Hanfmann
Five wins out of five for Darderi in this rivalry, which is a pretty commanding record on paper. But almost all of that came on clay, and Darderi's clay game is a completely different animal from what he brings to grass. Hanfmann, on the other hand, is a big serve, big forehand type who actually has a game built for this surface and Mallorca's conditions tend to reward exactly that.
Darderi hasn't shown enough on grass to feel confident backing him here, and the H2H is a bit misleading given the surface splits. Hanfmann in 2 is the call, and I wouldn't be shocked if it's comfortable.
Prediction: Hanfmann in 2
Adam Walton vs Alejandro Davidovich Fokina
Head-to-head: First meeting
Davidovich Fokina is a fiercely competitive player but grass has never been his best surface, and his results here in Mallorca, a tournament that tends to expose clay-court specialists, have been inconsistent over the years. Walton is a solid serve-and-volleyer type and at 6'5" he gets a lot out of his serve on grass, so this is actually a decent surface matchup for him. It's their first meeting, which makes it harder to call, but I feel like Walton's grass game gives him a real chance to steal this in three sets.
Prediction: Walton in 3
Murphy Cassone vs Ethan Quinn
Head-to-head: First meeting
Cassone is ranked 291st in the world and Quinn, despite being outside the top 50, is clearly the better player at this stage. Hard to see this being competitive at all. Quinn's been doing enough on the Challenger circuit to justify the ranking gap, and Cassone hasn't shown anything at this level to suggest he can bridge it. That said, Quinn wins this one, probably needing three sets just because grass keeps things unpredictable.
Prediction: Quinn in 3
For full predictions on ATP and WTA matches today, check out Uppset.
Credit Image: © Matthieu Mirville/ZUMA Press Wire