ATP Tournament in Mallorca, quarter-finals, Thursday, 23.06.2022
Are we in for a big sensation on grass just before Wimbledon? At the ATP men’s tournament in Majorca, a Swiss beyond the top 300 is currently rocking the competition, no one seems to be able to stop him.
He wants to continue this fairytale in the quarter-finals. In the meantime, bookmakers like 888Sport have also taken notice of him. In my Bellier Griekspoor tip, I reveal which bet will pay off with this surprise man!
If you haven’t heard the name Antoine Bellier before these days, let me tell you: I’m sure that’s what happened to a lot of fans who are currently following the ATP tournament in Mallorca! The 25-year-old Swiss is playing the competition of his life.
Challenger and ITF tournaments, mostly with very manageable successes, this is the stage he is actually on. The result is an unflattering 303rd place in the world rankings and the continuous stamp of the underdog.
On the Spanish island, however, everything suddenly went very differently. Having failed to qualify for the Challenger in Ilkley, Bellier is now playing big. He survived the qualifying on Mallorca with victories over Carlos Tabarner and Mats Rosenkranz.
Especially against the German it was very close, 4-6, 7-6, 7-6 was the scoreboard at the end. As soon as he reached the main draw, he showed that a knot had obviously been broken. Federico Delbonis was to be his first victim.
6-3, 7-6 (6), Bellier showed class as well as nerves of steel against the much stronger rated Argentine. He only allowed one break chance, but also served nine double faults, which were certainly due to nervousness.
But the 25-year-old had saved the real surprise for the round of 16. The result: A 6-3, 6-4. The opponent: Pablo Carreno Busta, actually a man from the extended world class!
The seven double faults have to be minimised, here the 1.96m tall underdog serves too risky. He took both break chances himself, which led to victory. At this point, however, it should also be noted:
Carreno Busta had a really bad day. He was unable to take advantage of any of the 14 break opportunities, which was a combination of Bellier’s strength and the lack of concentration of the actual favourite.
Now Bellier has a great chance to continue the fairytale. He will meet Tallon Griekspoor for the first time in his career. The latter is well behind Carreno Busta in the rankings, so whether a win is likely?
The new betting providers are not quite so optimistic about the matter. 1.20 to 4.50 on average, the Dutchman is still clearly ahead. As number 53 in the world, he did not have to go the way of qualification, of course.
With a lot of fight and still too few moments of brilliance, he got going at 7-6, 7-6 against Feliciano Lopez. Things remained bumpy as Griekspoor won 0-6, 6-3, 7-6 in the round of 16. At least he managed a comeback here after a disastrous first set.
His statistics were weaker than Molcan’s in the end, 80% should not really be the rate of breaks against him. Close results are absolutely typical for the Dutchman. An out in two sets and without a tiebreak? That has not happened at all this year!
My Bellier Griekspoor tip
Antoine Bellier is without doubt the big surprise of Mallorca. The Swiss serves riskily, is rewarded for it
He has already beaten Delbonis and Carreno Busta. As for Tallon Griekspoor, very close results have stood out, as they often do. Given that the Dutchman has never claimed a clear result in an out this year, I’m betting on Thursday:
We see more than 20.5 Games!
