EASTBOURNE INTERNATIONAL: The British grass court action continues in the buildup to Wimbledon, and this week sees some of the top players on the ATP Tour head to the south of England for the Eastbourne International.
Taylor Fritz – Defending champion
Taylor Fritz will head to Eastbourne to defend his 2022 title, in a bid to make it three wins at the tournament having also won it back in 2019.
Fritz is considered to be one of the rising stars on the tour and he has already shot to fame in the United States, becoming the American Number One back in 2021. Fritz is yet to truly make his mark in a Grand Slam, but his performance at Wimbledon last year, which saw him reach the quarterfinals, is his best effort yet.
That performance came off the back of last year’s Eastbourne International victory, and he will be hoping for another convincing win here to give him some momentum for what could be his best Grand Slam performance to date.
Alex de Minaur – Back for more
The young Australian is making the long trip over to Eastbourne, and he will be hoping to go at least one better having lost in the semi-finals at this tournament last year in a tight game against the aforementioned Taylor Fritz.
The current world number 18 is not in the best of form at the moment, with his last run past the quarter-final stage coming back in March at the Mexico Open.
However, he is most effective on grass and is currently in the third round at Queen’s, so a good performance there could see him kick on in Eastbourne.
With a semi-final appearance here under his belt he will be hoping to go at least that far again, and after exiting Wimbledon at the fourth round stage last year he will be hoping to build some momentum to reach the latter stages next month.
Grigor Dimitrov – Experienced winner
Grigor Dimitrov is one of the most experienced players on the Tour, and at the age of 32 he isn’t ready to start winding down his career just yet having reached his first final in over five years in Geneva earlier this year.
Dimitrov has been one of the best players on the tour throughout his career, with his peak coming in 2017 when he was ranked third in the world, but the Bulgarian has never fulfilled his potential as he has failed to make it to any of the Grand Slam finals.
Dimitrov has had success on the English grass courts before when he won the Queen’s Club Championships back in 2014, and with a career resurgence on the cards it would be no surprise to see him showcase his talents in a deep run at this year’s Eastbourne International.
Nicloas Jarry – Continuing a memorable season
Nicolas Jarry is certainly not a household name on the ATP Tour, but the 27-year-old Chilean is starting to build a very respectable profile with some notable performances this year.
Jarry has had a few deep tournament runs this year, culminating in two wins from two finals on the ATP Tour. By far his standout performances was his Geneva Open win in May, where he toppled giants as he defeated star names such as Casper Ruud, Alexander Zverev, and finally Grigor Dimitrov on his way to the title.
Jarry’s grass court achievements don’t offer much with the Chilean having never reached a grass court final on the ATP Tour. Wins over stars in this tournament like Grigor Dimitrov will give him some confidence to put in a good performance here and progress past his best Wimbledon performance, a second round exit in 2018, to continue what has been a standout season for the world number 28.
