Ilya Ivashka vs Stefanos Tsitsipas Prediction: Bet on a long match and a Greek win

Stefanos Tsitsipas will start the tournament in Mallorca against Bulgarian Ivashka, who has good playing experience on the grass. Bookmakers consider the Greek a big favorite, while we think the Bulgarian has a chance to take on the ATP top-ten player.

The tournament in Mallorca is the third one on grass for the Bulgarian. Before Spain, he played tournaments in Hertogenbosch and Halle. In the Netherlands, Ilya was stronger against McDonald and Ruusuvuori but lost against Medvedev. In Halle, the Bulgarian knocked out Struff but lost again to Daniil in two games. In Mallorca, Ilya beat Emil Ruusuvuori in two sets, 6-4, 6-1, in an hour and a half. In the game, the Bulgarian made seven aces and three double faults, winning 70% of the points on the first serve and 65% on the second. Ivashka had great statistics on the receiving end, and we can say that Ilya beat the Finn due to his quality technique.

So far, Stefanos has not been impressive on the grass. The Greek won only one match each in Stuttgart and Halle. In Stuttgart, Stefanos was stronger than Stricker but lost to Andy Murray. In Halle, he barely got past Bonzi but lost in three games to Nick Kyrgios as seeded Stefanos will start in Mallorca from the second round. Tsitsipas' results, as written above, are weak for a sixth-ranked player in the world. But, it has to be said that Tsitsipas has been particularly pleasing on the grass in the past. And Murray and Kyrgios are no giants either. To put it mildly, the Brits and the Aussie play very decently on the grass.

Tsitsipas is more comfortable on the grass than on the surface. That much is clear. However, we believe the Greek will make it to the next round, beating Ivashka. Stefanos knows the Bulgarian very well, and it's a plus for Tsitsipas, though Ilya is better in terms of tonus. We don't think it will be an easy win. The Greek will have to try hard, three sets are not a surprise, but we wait for the Greek player in the quarterfinals of the Mallorca tournament. Here are the odds for this match:

• W2+Total Over (19.5) for 1.82;
• Correct score 1:2 for 4.00.

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