2024 ATP Tour – ATP 250
Rothesay International Eastbourne
Devonshire Park Lawn Tennis Club
Selected Round of 32 matches – 26 June
Zhang Zhizhen 98/100 | Miomir Kecmanovic 8/10
I was hugely impressed by Zhang Zhizhen’s history-making performance at the last Halle Open. Known primarily as a clay-court specialist, Zhang has never really shown much of a proclivity for grass-court tennis in his career (though he did reach the quarter-finals here last year).
But he has been making some real progress over the last year or so, becoming the first Chinese man in the Open Era to reach a grass-court semi-final at last week’s Halle Open.
And he did it in real style, producing a huge upset to eliminate Daniil Medvedev. He also pushed World No.1 Jannik Sinner in a really competitive semi-final (he actually manufactured a set-point in the second set).
The Chinese baseliner has produced decent results on all surfaces this year and I was really impressed with the way he manipulated the ball last week. He was quite content to operate from the baseline, using crazy drop-shots to change the tempo of rallies. Can he enjoy another positive grass-court week with Wimbledon peaking around the corner?
This has been a really frustrating year for 24-year-old Serb Miomir Kecmanovic. He comes into this event with a drab 13-17 record for the season (with a fourth-round run at the Aussie Open an obvious standout performance).
I have been slightly disappointed with his progression over the last few years. His 2022 Miami Open quarter-final against Carlos Alcaraz seemed to announce the arrival of two exceptional talents. Sure, he did manage to reach two minor finals last year.
But he has struggled with consistency this season and is now ranked outside the top 50 in the world. He has very little grass-court pedigree to speak of (though he did reach the third round at Wimbledon in 2022).
He is a brilliant defensive player with solid grounds off both strokes. But he doesn’t really have that humongous weapon that can separate him from the pack. But he is a supreme athlete and I think he should be well suited to deal with Zhang’s variety.
The Verdict: Kecmanovic to win in three at 32/10
Kecmanovic leads the head-to-head 2-0- including one Challenger win. Crucially, the Serb brushed aside the Chinese player when they met in Madrid earlier this season.
I just think the Serb’s pure athleticism will allow him to dismantle the tricky Zhang. He won’t be outdone too easily by drop-shots and he probably has a little more firepower than the Chinese. Still, this should be a fairly tight affair.