Wimbledon qualies start today but for those that don’t need them (or those who have chosen not to try for a spot this year), the third and final week of grass tournaments is here. Last week Feliciano Lopez made his second straight final and this time won at the prestigious Queen’s and Federer made short work of A. Zverev for his 9th title in Halle.

In the ladies, Sevastova won her 2nd overall title (and first on grass) in Mallorca and Kvitova came back with an amazing performance to beat Barty, taking the title in Birmingham.

Below are the previews of the 2 ATP and 1 WTA tournaments for this week.

ATP Eastbourne, UK (Aegon International) – ATP World Tour 250 series

Website: https://www.lta.org.uk/major-events/aegon-international-eastbourne/

After two years in Nottingham, this ATP World Tour event returns to Eastbourne. The Aegon International is played in the week before Wimbledon.

Organizers have offered wildcards to Novak Djokovic and Gael Monfils and so, Novak will compete on grass after all before the Wimbledon. Other top-seeds and in-form players include Isner, Johnson, Gasquet, Querrey, M. Zverev, Haase, Pospisil and Mahut.

In the last two years the event was not held in Eastbourne, but in 2013 and 2014 F. Lopez lifted the trophy.

Possible QFs:

Djokovic – Young

Johnson – Medvedev

Anderson – Isner

Zverev – Monfils

Risky straight winner pick (Bet365 odds): Isner (12)

High value picks which could be traded out later (Bet365 odds):  Medvedev (34)

ATP Antalya, Turkey – ATP World Tour 250 series

Website: http://www.antalyaopen.com/

The Antalya Open, a new ATP World Tour 250 tournament, is part of the enhanced grass-court swing and will be staged the week before Wimbledon. Seven grass courts are being constructed at the hotel resort Kaya Palazzo Belek under the guidance of the All England Lawn Tennis Club, Wimbledon.

Unfortunately there’s not much info even on the official webpage. Top-8 seeds are Thiem, Lorenzi, Verdasco, Ferrer, Khachanov, Troicki, Coric and Klizan. It surely looks like a much weaker tournament than Eastbourne, with Thiem clearly standing out as the very strong favorite (if he cares enough to go all the way).

Possible QFs:

Thiem – Troicki

Ferrer – Klizan

Mannarino – Verdasco

Tipsarevic – Lorenzi

Risky straight winner pick (Bet365 odds):  Verdasco (7.5)

High value picks which could be traded out later (Bet365 odds): Basilahsvili (23)

WTA Eastbourne, UK (Aegon International) – WTA Premier series

Website: https://www.lta.org.uk/major-events/Aegon-International-Eastbourne

Held since 1974 at the Devonshire Park Lawn Tennis Club, Eastbourne, the tournament is played on outdoor grass courts and is generally considered a “warm-up” for Wimbledon which begins the following week.

Eight of the top-10 WTA players will compete here, so we can expect a very tough tournament. I won’t even begin to list the top-players as there are just too many (check here for a complete list: https://www.lta.org.uk/major-events/Aegon-International-Eastbourne/aegon-international-eastbourne-wta-player-entry-list/). Notable absentees (not long-time like Serena) include Svitolina who suffered an injury in her match against Giorgi, Venus Williams, Keys and Sevastova.

Previous title holders who compete this year, include Cibulkova (current title holder), Vesnina,  Wozniacki, Radwanska and Kuznetsova.

Possible QFs:

Kerber – Konta

Pliskova – Mladenovic

Radwanska – Cibulkova

Wozniacki – Kvitova

Risky straight winner pick (Bet365 odds): Kvitova (7)

High value picks which could be traded out later (Bet365 odds): Radwanska (21)