Tennis acca tips for Tuesday, July 16: Nadal to beat Borg in clay court comeback

The week after Wimbledon sees Rafael Nadal return to the court for an interesting clay court comeback.

We will see a Nadal vs Borg match and it won't involve any holograms as Rafa takes on the son of Swedish tennis legend Bjorn in Sweden.

Leo Borg is still learning to navigate the pitfalls of a famous name in tennis and could learn a lot from Nadal.

That match is just one of many on the ATP Tour which has stops in Bastad, Gstaad, Hamburg and Newport this week with events crunched together to make way for the Paris Olympics.

Here we make our picks for match winners from each of the events on Tuesday.

 

ATP Bastad: Elias Ymer vs Sumit Nagal | Pick: Ymer

ATP Bastad: Rafael Nadal vs Leo Borg | Pick: Nadal

ATP Gstaad: Pedro Cachin vs Matteo Berrettini | Pick: Berrettini

ATP Gstaad: Stanislas Wawrinka vs Lukas Klein | Pick: Wawrinka

ATP Hamburg: Alexander Zverev vs Jesper De Jong | Pick: Zverev

ATP Hamburg: Fabian Marozsan vs Holger Rune | Pick: Rune

ATP Newport: Mackenzie McDonald vs Rinky Hijikata | Pick: Mcdonald

ATP Newport: Shintaro Mochizuki vs Arthur Rinderknech | Pick: Rinderknech

 

Planet Sport Bet offer: Place a £5+ cash all correct accumulator (Min. 5 selections) on tennis and get up to a 50% BONUS on your winnings

 

ATP Bastad: Elias Ymer vs Sumit Nagal

Elias Ymer holds a 2-0 head-to-head lead over Sumit Nagal but is the underdog for their clash.

Ymer is worth backing because he will be playing at home and needs to bounce back from a first-round loss at Wimbledon.

Nagal has a decent record on clay this term which has some predicting that he will win this clash.

However, both of Ymer's wins over Nagal have come on clay and he will be fired up by the supporters.

 

ATP Bastad: Rafael Nadal vs Leo Borg

While Leo Borg is the hometown hero here, so to speak, it's tough to imagine the Bastad crowd giving Rafael Nadal a hard time.

Nadal might have slipped to world No 261 but he is still ranked 200 places above Borg and this is a battle of wildcards.

The Spaniard looked good in a return to clay in the doubles where he is partnering Casper Ruud.

Borg's career has started inauspiciously but there is still time for him to bloom as a player as long as he learns from matches like this one.

 

ATP Gstaad: Pedro Cachin vs Matteo Berrettini

In Switzerland, Matteo Berrettini looks to continue his comeback from injury when he faces Pedro Cachin.

The former Wimbledon finalist showed promising grass court form but will now have to adapt to clay.

Berrettini has a good record on clay although Cachin does have a lot more experience on the surface with over 650 matches under his belt.

Still, if Berrettini can find his best level he should be able to come through this tough opener.

 

ATP Gstaad: Stanislas Wawrinka vs Lukas Klein

There is no head-to-head record between Stanislas Wawrinka and Lukas Klein since this will be the first time that they will face off in ATP Tour action.

Wawrinka has struggled throughout the 2024 campaign, securing just five wins in 16 matches so far.

He has grown weary of answering questions about his retirement but should also be able to beat Klein.

The Slovakian will be up against it to defeat Wawrinka in a home event.

 

ATP Hamburg: Alexander Zverev vs Jesper De Jong

Alexander Zverev starts his true home event in Hamburg with a clash against Jesper De Jong in the ATP 500 event.

With its 32-player draw, there are no first-round byes and top-seeded Zverev starts against the Dutch qualifier.

This will be De Jong's first clash with Zverev and it's difficult to imagine how he could come out on top.

Zverev is the defending champion and hometown hero and a first-round loss would be unthinkable.

 

ATP Hamburg: Fabian Marozsan vs Holger Rune

Holger Rune has been handed a tough draw as he will have to get the better of big-hitting Fabian Marozsan.

Marozsan comfortably beat Rune earlier this season in Miami when he raced to a 6-1 6-1 win in no time.

Rune isn't having the best of campaigns and could use a strong run in Hamburg ahead of the Olympics.

The clay might take enough sting out of Marozsan's game to ensure that Rune can level up their rivalry.

 

ATP Newport: Mackenzie McDonald vs Rinky Hijikata

When Mackenzie McDonald and Rinky Hijikata last met the American held the higher ranking.

In just over a year that situation has flipped but Mcdonald could also overturn that result as he faces the Australian on home soil.

The Hall of Fame Open closes out the grass season and this will also be these players second meeting on grass.

Last time out they went to three sets and McDonald will be out to avenge that loss.

 

ATP Newport: Shintaro Mochizuki vs Arthur Rinderknech

Rising Japanese prospect Shintaro Mochizuki has been handed a tough draw in Newport and must face France's Arthur Rinderknech on Tuesday.

Rinderknech should have the edge on serve and that counts for a lot on grass.

This will be the first-ever meeting between these two players on the ATP Tour.

Rinderknech has the better record in 2024 and should extend that with a win to start.