Preview of Weekend Event: Rothesay International
The Rothesay International, an ATP Tour 250 series grass court event, wraps up this weekend in Eastbourne, United Kingdom. What started as an exclusive WTA event has been part of the ATP Tour since 2009 and crowned champions like Novak Djokovic (2017), Alex de Minaur (2022), and Francisco Cerundolo (2023). The 2024 Rothesay International began with eight of the top-35 players in the world and has featured plenty of upsets as we head into what should be an exciting weekend of action.
Early Round Recap
American Taylor Fritz, the top seed and two-time champion at Eastbourne, is the only of the top eight seeds to advance to the semi-finals. He beat Thiago Seyboth Wild in straight sets in the second round and followed that up with a victory over Chinese qualifier Shang Juncheng in the second round. He’ll face lucky loser Aleksander Vukic in the semi-final. Vukic scored three straight upsets over Fabian Marozsan, third seed Alexander Bublik, and Yoshihito Nishioka.
Second seed Tommy Paul withdrew from the event after winning last week’s Cinch Championships. Cerundolo, the fifth seed and defending champion, was upset in the first round by Marcos Giron, who then lost to Nishioka. His Argentinian compatriot Sebastian Baez was upset by Miomir Kecmanovic in the second round.
The biggest surprise in Eastbourne has been Billy Harris. The veteran Brit won only his second and third career ATP matches a week ago at the Cinch Championships and is now into the semi-finals in Eastbourne after a favorable draw that saw him beat fellow wildcard Jacob Fearnley, lucky loser Charles Broom, and Flavio Cobolli.
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Semi-Final Betting Previews
Max Purcell (-175) vs. Billy Harris (+125)
This is an incredibly tough matchup to predict given both players were unlikely to be in this position at the start of the tournament. Harris is on a great run right now and playing incredible in front of the home crowd, but he hasn’t faced tough opponents thus far in Eastbourne. Purcell, meanwhile, is ranked inside the top-100 and has beaten Kecmanovic, Lorenzo Sonego, and Laslo Djere. He won his last two matches in straight sets. Interestingly, Harris is 1-0 in his career against Purcell, beating him in a Challenger event. At this point, I’d keep backing Harris, who will be a major crowd favorite.
Taylor Fritz (-425) vs. Aleksander Vukic (+270)
Fritz is having an incredible year with a record of 28-12, including 4-1 on grass courts. He won a title in Delray Beach and has reached at least the quarter-finals in six other tournaments, including this one. He’s 1-0 in his career against Vukic and I’d expect he won’t have much problem beating the Aussie in the semi-finals.
Rothesay Final Pick
Assuming a Fritz and Harris final, that would arguably be best case from an entertainment perspective. The underdog Briton who has been grinding in Challenger events against one of the top American players. Harris winning would be a great story, but the best pick for an outright winner – or in a Harris-Fritz final – is Fritz. He is more talented and experienced than either Harris or Vukic and is going to be highly motivated to build some momentum heading into Wimbledon.