Tennis acca tips: Iga Swiatek and Coco Gauff to reach first grass court finals
- James Richardson
- 30 June 2023
Planet Sport presents four leads for your tennis accumulator on Friday, June 29 with matches from Eastbourne, Mallorca and Bad Homburg.
On the eve of the Wimbledon draw the grass swing continues in Eastbourne, Mallorca and Bad Homburg.
There are genuine Wimbledon contenders on the WTA side looking for a breakthrough win.
When it comes to the ATP Tour its been a great week for American outsiders.
Those still in the hunt will be out to ride their momentum right into Wimbledon.
ATP Eastbourne: McKenzie McDonald vs Francisco Cerundolo | Pick: Cerundolo
ATP Mallorca Open: Christopher Eubanks vs Lloyd Harris | Pick: Eubanks
WTA Eastbourne: Madison Keys vs Coco Gauff | Pick: Gauff
WTA Bad Homburg: Iga Swiatek vs Lucia Bronzetti | Pick: Iga Swiatek
ATP Eastbourne: McKenzie McDonald vs Francisco Cerundolo
The Eastbourne semi-final will be the first ATP Tour meeting between McKenzie McDonald and Francisco Cerundolo.
Cerundolo has just broken into the top 20 for the first time and he has not dropped a set all week although he did need to dig deep against big-serving Swiss Marc-Andrea Huesler to win a pair of tiebreakers and claim a place in the round of 16.
McDonald survived a three-set battle against Mikael Ymer and is out to reach just his second ATP Tour final.
Cerundolo won his lone title in Bstaad on clay but he has looked at home on the Eastbourne lawns.
ATP Mallorca Open: Christopher Eubanks vs Lloyd Harris
Lloyd Harris came out on top the last time he met Christopher Eubanks on the ATP Tour but the South African's form has fallen off in 2023.
They have also met five further times in a mixture of qualifying, Challenger and Futures Tour clashes that Harris has shaded 3-2.
Eubanks won the last of those meetings which came in Gwangju earlier this year.
Harris hasn't enjoyed a deep run in some time and the eight hours he has spent on court might start to tell on Friday.
WTA Eastbourne: Madison Keys vs Coco Gauff
Coco Gauff faces another clash with a compatriot at Eastbourne as she takes on Madison Keys after seeing off Jessica Pegula in the last eight.
Gauff could reach her second final of the season and first career championship match on grass if she can overcome Keys for the third time in their fourth meeting.
Keys lost to Gauff in the Dubai quarter-finals and her run at Eastbourne is the first time she has been beyond the last eight since.
Familiarity with her opponent will help Gauff overcome her hesitancy on grass and help her continue a stellar run at the Rothesay International.
WTA Bad Homburg: Iga Swiatek vs Lucia Bronzetti
Iga Swiatek is also just one match away from a breakthrough first WTA Tour final on grass at Bad Homburg.
Standing in the world No 1's way is Italy's Lucia Bronzetti who has an even sparser record on grass.
Bronzetti didn't take part in the grass swing at all between 2016 and 2021 and she has played just eight matches on the surface, including three this week.
Swiatek is unbeaten on grass so far this season although that is just a run of two matches at Bad Homburg her strides on getting to grips with the surface this season make her a strong Wimbledon contender.
