Three picks from the Mallorca qualifying final today, with a handful of players trying to get into the main draw on grass. We've got predictions for all three, so let's get into it.
Mallorca Championships Qualifying Predictions
Zachary Svajda vs Damir Dzumhur
Head-to-head: First meeting
Svajda is the higher-ranked player here and grass is probably his better surface, so he comes in as the clear favourite. Dzumhur is a solid clay-court grinder who's had decent results over the years, but he's never really translated that into anything on grass and at 32 his best tennis is probably behind him.
I think Svajda gets through, though Dzumhur's experience and defensive baseline game could make this a scrappy one. Wouldn't be shocked if it goes the distance.
Prediction: Svajda in 3
Adam Walton vs Antoine Ghibaudo
Head-to-head: First meeting
This one isn't particularly close on paper. Walton is ranked 91st in the world and Ghibaudo is sitting at 300, and the gap in grass-court experience between a Tour regular and someone ranked that low is considerable. Hard to see Ghibaudo pushing a player of Walton's level on this surface regardless of whatever Challenger results he's put together.
Prediction: Walton in 2
Alex Molcan vs Murphy Cassone
Head-to-head: First meeting
Molcan is a clay specialist by nature and grass has never looked like his most comfortable surface, which makes this a bit of an interesting spot for him even against a much lower-ranked opponent. Cassone is ranked 292nd and is a complete unknown at this level, so Molcan's quality should be enough to get through here, all things considered. That said, grass has a funny way of levelling things out and Molcan can go through spells where his level drops suddenly, so I feel like there's at least a scenario where this gets nervy.
Prediction: Molcan in 3
For full predictions on ATP and WTA matches today, check out Uppset.
Credit Image: © Marcin Cholewinski/ZUMA Press Wire