Mallorca Championships 2022: Stefanos Tsitsipas vs Benjamin Bonzi preview, head-to-head, prediction, odds and pick
Match Details
Fixture: (2/WC) Stefanos Tsitsipas vs Benjamin Bonzi.
Date: 24 June 2022.
Tournament: Mallorca Championships 2022
Round: Semifinal.
Venue: Santa Ponsa, Spain.
Category: ATP 250.
Surface: Grass.
Prize money: €886,500.
Match timing: Not before 3 pm local time, 1 pm GMT, 9 am ET and 6:30 pm IST.
Live telecast: USA - Tennis Channel | Canada - TSN | India - Discovery.
Stefanos Tsitsipas vs Benjamin Bonzi preview
Second seed Stefanos Tsitsipas will take on World No. 56 Benjamin Bonzi in the semifinals of the 2022 Mallorca Championships on Friday.
After a first-round bye, Tsitsipas defeated Ilya Ivashka 6-4, 6-4 in the second round. It was a commanding performance from the Greek as he didn't face a single break point during the match.
Tsitsipas squared off against Marcos Giron in the quarterfinals. He drew first blood in the opening set to lead 4-2, but Giron fought back to level the score. The second seed once again went up a break to 6-5, but failed to serve out the set as the American dug deep to force a tie-break.
The tie-break was an intense affair, but Tsitsipas won the last three points to take the set. His level dipped a little in the second set as he failed to generate any break point chances on his opponent's serve, while fending a few on his own serve. The Greek buckled under pressure towards the end as Giron secured a break of serve to bag the set.
Both players were evenly matched for the better part of the deciding set. Tsitsipas got the decisive break in the eighth game to lead 5-3, and then served out the match to win 7-6 (5), 4-6, 6-3.
TsitsipACE to finish 🎯
@steftsitsipas fights past Giron 7-6 4-6 6-3 in 2 hrs 33 minutes to reach the final four @MallorcaChamps! https://t.co/LSVQhLZ3UA
Benjamin Bonzi defeated Alejandro Tabilo in the first round in Mallorca after the latter retired due to an injury in the second set. He then upset World No. 16 Denis Shapovalov in the second round with a straight-sets win.
Bonzi was up against Daniel Altmaier in the quarterfinals. Neither player got close to a break point in the first seven games of the opening set. Bonzi then got the decisive break in the next game to lead 5-3, and quite easily served out the set after that.
The second set played out in a similar fashion. Bonzi got a solitary break towards the end of the set to lead 5-4, following which he closed out the match to win 6-3, 6-4.
Stefanos Tsitsipas vs Benjamin Bonzi head-to-head
Tsitsipas leads Bonzi 1-0 in the head-to-head. He won their most recent encounter at last week's Halle Open in three sets.
Stefanos Tsitsipas vs Benjamin Bonzi odds
All odds are sourced from BetMGM.
Stefanos Tsitsipas vs Benjamin Bonzi prediction
Tsitsipas and Bonzi faced off in Halle just last week, with the latter putting up quite the fight before the Greek prevailed in three sets. The Frenchman is yet to drop a set this week and has played at a pretty good level so far.
During their previous encounter, Bonzi went 3/10 on break points. While he consistently put pressure on Tsitsipas with his returns, he didn't capitalize on all the opportunities he had. He will need to ensure he doesn't repeat the same mistakes if he wants a shot at winning.
However, Tsitsipas has been serving quite well this week. In his quarterfinal match against Giron, his serve saved him a few times as he hit 12 aces, including a few at crucial points in the match.
Tsitsipas' grasscourt game is still a work in progress, but he has been putting in the necessary work to succeed on the surface. Nevertheless, he's more vulnerable here compared to hardcourts or clay.
This is another match that could go down to the wire, but Tsitsipas should be able to squeak past his opponent.
Pick: Stefanos Tsitsipas to win in three sets.