We take a look at the selected round of 16 matches from the ATP Tour’s Nature Valley International (Eastbourne) taking place on Wednesday 26 June 2019.
ATP Tour 2019 | ATP 250 Series
Nature Valley International (Eastbourne)
Devonshire Park Lawn Tennis Club, Eastbourne, United Kingdom (Outdoor Grass)
Selected Round of 16 Matches – 26 June 2019
Guido Pella (2/1)
vs Taylor Fritz (7/20)
It says something about the relative lack of prestige in the men’s event that Guido Pella is the number one seed this week. The Argentine is hardly what you would call a household name. But he has built up a steady year on both the South American and European clay-court swings. The lefty is really a consummate clay-court player. He lost a final in Cordoba prior to claiming the title in Sao Paulo. Back-to-back quarterfinals in the more prestigious Barcelona and Monte Carlo events really caught the eye and highlighted how dangerous he can be. But can he translate this positive clay-court juju into more consistent all-court form? It will be interesting to see how the Argentine fairs this week with the added pressure of being the top man in the draw.
The relatively static form of Taylor Fritz over the past year has been really surprising to me. As the likes of Alex Zverev and Stefanos Tsitsipas have taken that next step towards superstardom, Fritz’s career has stagnated somewhat. It didn’t appear a likely narrative after he became the second quickest American to reach an ATP Final: he reached the 2016 Memphis Open Final in just his third event. But the big-serving American seems to have largely regressed and seems stuck. He clearly possesses the talent- he cruised to the Challenger event in Newport when he took that slight step back. But this year has largely been uninspiring, though a semi-final showing in Lyon hinted at his potential. But grass should suit the big-serving American to a tee. Much like compatriot Andy Roddick, Fritz has the capacity to control games with his serve. He just needs to learn to construct points more thoughtfully and he will evolve as a player.
This will only be their second ever meeting, with Pella winning in the Chengdu Open in 2017. I believe that Fritz has all the ingredients to become a fine grass-court player and he is justifiably the favourite for this match. But I can’t abide by odds that short, especially considering his form. Pella is still the more sensible option.
Dusan Lajovic (24/10)
vs Sam Querrey (3/10)
28-year-old Dusan Lajovic has the tough job of trying to distinguish himself in the world of Serbian men’s tennis. He started the year in decent fashion, reaching the quarter-finals in Qatar. But that was just the catalyst for a string of awful results. He lost six consecutive matches in the wake of that quarterfinal defeat. In fact, Dusan Lajovic has lost nine opening round matches this year. But he managed to pick up one of those fairy-tale runs in Monte Carlo that goes a long way to covering up performance issues. He reached the final in Monte Carlo, going on to lose to Italian Fabio Fognini. So he clearly has the capacity to beat anyone on his day. But in Sam Querrey, he faces a crafty grass-court veteran with a fine pedigree.
Sam Querrey’s victory over Kukushkin in the opening match once again highlighted his ability on this surface. Querrey hasn’t been quite as active this season, though semi-finals in Houston and New York hint at his considerable ability. But with a grass-court aficionado such as Querrey, it’s perhaps best to take a look at historical precedent. Querrey won the Queen’s title in 2010 and also managed to reach the Nottingham Final in 2015. But it will be for his exploits at Wimbledon that he will be remembered. He reached the semi-finals in 2017, accounting for then, World Number One Andy Murray in the process. The year previously he accounted for Novak Djokovic en route to the quarter-finals. He reminds me of Jim Courier, with a powerful serve and compact control of rallies. Sam Querrey lives for this time of year and will look to boss Lajovic from the start.
This will be their second meeting, with Lajovic emerging victorious in the 2018 Aussie Open. Querrey actually had to withdraw from that match due to injury. But I think that the American will dominate the Serb in straight sets at even money.
