The first-ever Mallorca Open tennis tournament moves into the second round of competition on the Spanish island and so do our tennis picks. Meanwhile, the Aegon Classic in Birmingham, England, also moves forward into the round of 16 in the 32-player tournament. Taking a look back to our Wednesday results, we had a rough go of things. It’s been a tournament of surprises so far as French Open winner and hometown favorite Garbine Muguruza already lost in Mallorca and on Wednesday, a couple of other top seeds lost. We had Sabine Lisicki to get the job done versus Mariana Duque-Marino but she fell in three sets. Lisicki won the first set rather easily 6-1 but then dropped the next two. We also had Eugenie Bouchard in our tennis picks to get the win but she stumbled. She lost in straight sets to Anastasija Sevastova. Lastly, we did get one winner on the day as Jelena Jankovic beat Elise Mertens. She needed three sets to do it but after losing the first set 6-0, she bounced back and won the final two sets.
All of these matches will start after 11 a.m. Eastern time on Thursday. Here’s a look at our tennis picks.
MALLORCA OPEN SECOND ROUND: Ana Ivanovic vs. Sara Sorribes Tormo
Ana Ivanovic is set to get married to German soccer star Bastian Schweinsteiger after the 2016 Euro Cup, but hopefully she’s focused on what’s in front of her tomorrow instead of what’s coming in the next month.
This is a match in which bettors might certainly be skittish about picking Ivanovic, the kind of player who can go toe-to-toe with Serena Williams, but who tosses in all sorts of bad losses to players she has no business losing to. This is that kind of match – Ivanovic really shouldn’t come close to losing. Sorribes Tormo is ranked outside the top 150 and has no truly notable achievements to speak of. Ivanovic should win this match in straights, but bettors have been burned so many times before when picking Ivanovic in an early-stage match of a tournament against a relatively unknown opponent. Is this going to be another one of those days? No. Ivanovic should be able to find a comfort zone against a player who isn’t likely to win on grass. Unaccomplished players struggle enough as it is; grass requires an extra degree of focus and dexterity, so that should work to Ivanovic’s advantage here. Take her with your tennis picks.
Pick: Ivanovic in straight sets
BIRMINGHAM SECOND ROUND: Heather Watson vs. Barbora Strycova
This is a matchup of a home-nation player, Watson, and a Czech who can hit a very big ball but who can just as easily descend into a series of prolonged struggles with her own game. Watson is best known in WTA circles for coming very close to upsetting Serena Williams last year at Wimbledon. Watson pushed Serena deep into a third set before losing at the very end. Anyone inclined to bet on her in this match probably thinks that playing in Great Britain and on grass will enable her to recall that moment against Serena and once again flourish. However, Strycova is a former Wimbledon quarterfinalist. Grass shouldn’t throw her off her game. She hits the ball noticeably bigger than Watson does, and that’s the kind of thing which is hard to bet against if the bigger hitter is the higher-ranked and generally steadier player as well. Go with Strycova for your tennis picks.
Pick: Strycova in straight sets
BIRMINGHAM SECOND ROUND: CoCo Vandeweghe vs. Christina McHale
This is a match which feels like a three-setter. Vandeweghe beat Agnieszka Radwanska on Wednesday, knocking the top seed out of the tournament at a time when Serena Williams is resting and Garbine Muguruza opted to play the new grass-court event in Mallorca. Vandeweghe is the better in-form player, but after playing three sets against Radwanska, she might be tired. This match should go deep into the third set. Vandeweghe is the better player, but McHale might be able to frustrate her and take away her legs at times. However, in a third set, as long as it remains close, Vandeweghe can get more easy points on serve, and on grass, that makes a big difference. Take CoCo with your tennis picks.
Pick: Vandeweghe in three sets
