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Match Details
Fixture: (2) Stefanos Tsitsipas vs (5) Roberto Bautista Agut
Date: June 25, 2022
Tournament: Mallorca Championships 2022
Round: Final.
Venue: Santa Ponsa, Spain.
Category: ATP 250.
Surface: Grass.
Prize money: €886,500.
Live telecast: USA - Tennis Channel | Canada - TSN | India - Discovery
Stefanos Tsitsipas vs Roberto Bautista Agut preview
Second seed Stefanos Tsitsipas will square off against Roberto Bautista Agut in the final of the Mallorca Championships.
Stefanos Tsitsipas entered Mallorca on the back of a quarterfinal run in Stuttgart and and a second-round exit at the Halle Open, struggling to register back-to-back wins on grass.
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However, the Greek flipped the switch in Mallorca, with wins over Ilya Ivashka, Marcos Giron and Benjamin Bonzi en route to his first ever final on the surface.
The 23-year old paced his semifinal match to perfection against World No. 56 Benjamin Bonzi. Not only did he save all his break points, he held his serve throughout the match, hitting zero double faults to wrap up a straightforward win over the Frenchman 6-4, 6-4.
Roberto Bautista Agut, on the other hand, has had an extraordinary record on grasscourt in his career and this season is no different, with the Spaniard winning six out of seven matches on the surface this season. He's yet to drop a set this week and came through a tough draw to reach the final.
Bautista Agut avenged his loss to World No. 1 Daniil Medvedev at the Halle Open last week by defeating him in straight sets in the quarterfinals of the Mallorca Championships.
The 34-year old locked horns with Swiss qualifier Antoine Bellier in the semifinals and looked a bit shaky as compared to his previous outings. He was stretched to a tiebreak in the first set and was also broken by the youngster in the second but managed to find a way back to win 7-6(5), 6-2 and book his spot in the final.
Stefanos Tsitsipas vs Roberto Bautista Agut head-to-head
Stefanos Tsitsipas leads the head-to-head 2-0 against Bautista Agut. He defeated the Spaniard in their most recent encounter at the 2021 ATP Cup 7-5, 7-5.
Stefanos Tsitsipas vs Roberto Bautista Agut odds
All odds are sourced by BetMGM.
Stefanos Tsitsipas vs Roberto Bautista Agut prediction
The highest-ranked player Tsitsipas defeated in this tournament was World No. 40 Ilya Ivashka. He's had a reasonably easy draw compared to Bautista Agut, who had to beat the World No. 1 en route to the final. Nevertheless, he is one win away from becoming the youngest player to win a tour-level title on all three surfaces.
The Greek won 75 percent of his first serve points and saved all the break points he faced against Bonzi. He has utilized his serve to its potential, rocketing 27 aces in the tournament so far. Grass has never been his favourite surface, but the World No. 6 has put in the effort to improve and adapt his game to suit the surface.
His improvement in his backhand return and slice has been significant, with the contrast in his performance in Stuttgart as compared to Mallorca being immense.
Meanwhile, Roberto Bautista Agut won 78 percent of his first serve points and faced only one breakpoint throughout the match against Bellier. The Swiss qualifier stuck to a serve and volley strategy, but the weaknesses in his approach to the net were exploited by the Spaniard with outstanding passing shots and measured lobs.
The Spaniard will play in his second grasscourt final on Saturday, having triumphed in the Rosmalen Grass Court Championship in 2014, beating Benjamin Becker in three sets to win his maiden ATP title. His best result on the surface came in 2019, when he reached the semifinals of Wimbledon.
The tie might be titled towards Bautista Agut, considering his 70 percent sucess ratio on grass. Tsitsipas is the favorite on paper due to his ranking superiority and current form, but the margins are thin.
If the veteran starts off strong with his trademark flat but powerful shots, painting the lines and attacking Tsitsipas' backhand return successfully, Bautista Agut has an excellent chance of winning against the Greek.
Pick: Bautista Agut in three sets.
