Rothesay International Eastbourne predictions: Jarry and Garcia could cause a stir
- Caroline Garcia won 10 of her 13 matches on the grass courts in 2022
- Nicolas Jarry has won 10 of his last 12 matches in all competitions
- Recommended bets:
- Caroline Garcia to win WTA Eastbourne
- Nicolas Jarry to win ATP Eastbourne
Wimbledon is nearly upon us with events such as Queen's and the Birmingham Classic done and dusted, and this week attention turns to the Rothesay International Eastbourne for its WTA 500 and ATP 250 tournaments.
The event is a fine warm-up for the season's third Grand Slam and features some big hitters in both the men's and women's draws.
Wimbledon champion Rybakina takes top seed in women's draw
The WTA Eastbourne features a slightly stronger field than the men's equivalent and all eyes will be on Elena Rybakina, who is getting ready to defend her Wimbledon title this summer.
Rybakina was runner-up at this year's Australian Open but crashed out in the third round of the French Open, and her grass-court swing started on the back foot with an underwhelming performance at the German Open in Berlin.
Rybakina exited that event in the last 16 and she faces plenty of competition in Eastbourne with teenager Coco Gauff, Jessica Pegula and Ons Jabeur among the others competing.
There is also British representation from Katie Boulter, who won her first WTA title at the Nottingham Open earlier in June, and Harriet Dart, who was an Eastbourne quarter-finalist last year.
Caroline Garcia, meanwhile, has shown her quality on grass before and could be worth keeping an eye on.
Fritz targets third Eastbourne title
In the men's tournament, Taylor Fritz will be eager to show his worth again having won the Eastbourne title on two occasions, including last year.
In 2022 the American won eight of his 11 matches on grass but he was underwhelming at Queen's recently, losing to Adrian Mannarino in the last 16 while he also lost just his second match at the Stuttgart Open.
Compatriot Tommy Paul and Francisco Cerundolo will be among his closest competitors for the title while Chilean Nicolas Jarry could also cause a stir.
Prediction
Rybakina is class on grass but her recent form has not been great and the best selection in the women's draw could be Caroline Garcia.
The French talent has not had the best season but has started to get back to form during the grass-court swing with a run to the quarter-finals of the German Open, which she won in the doubles with Luisa Stefani.
Garcia also won the Bad Homburg Open on the faster surface last June and picked up three wins at Wimbledon.
In the men's event, Jarry looks a great outside selection.
Jarry, a strong 2/5 favourite with LiveScore bet to dispatch first-round opponent Mikael Ymer, is fresh from making the quarter-finals of the ATP Halle, having beaten Corentin Moutet and Alexander Zverev in the tournament, while he also reached the last 16 of the French Open.
Stationed in the bottom half of the draw, fifth seed Jarry avoids top seed Fritz and the highest-rated opponent he could face in the quarter-finals is Miomir Kecmanovic.
