🎾 ATP Mallorca – Round 1 Preview Benjamin Bonzi vs Brandon Holt

🎾 ATP Mallorca – Round 1 Preview

Benjamin Bonzi vs Brandon Holt

Grass-savvy Bonzi faces Challenger-charged Holt in a Mallorca opener with hidden upset potential.

🧠 Form & Context

Benjamin Bonzi
🇫🇷 ATP No. 64, former top-50. Grass résumé includes a Mallorca SF run in 2022 and a 26–15 career mark.
⏳ 2025 has been streaky (14–15), but he took out Hubert Hurkacz in Madrid and qualified for Halle last week before losing to Quentin Halys.
🩹 Retired in Madrid late April yet looked physically fine in two Halle qualifying wins.
🔑 Classical French all-court game: compact first serve, flat backhand and sharp volleys translate well to slick lawns.
🔙 Leads the H2H 1–0 (Granby 2024, 6–3 7–6).

Brandon Holt
🇺🇸 Up to a career-high No. 101 after a heavy Challenger schedule (37–17 in 2025 with two titles).
🌱 5–3 on grass this month, including a Birmingham SF and two Mallorca qualifying victories over Adam Walton and Elias Ymer.
💥 Relies on a live forehand and improving serve; willing to take the ball early but still adjusting to low-skid returns on grass.
👀 First ATP main-draw match on grass; looking for a breakthrough top-70 scalp.

🔍 Match Breakdown

Bonzi’s point-construction and slice backhand disrupt opponents’ timing on fast courts. He’ll aim to stretch Holt with wide serves, use backhand chips to bring the American forward, and finish at the net.

Holt’s best path is first-strike aggression—pushing Bonzi behind the baseline with the forehand and protecting his own second serve (he wins only 47 % of those points on grass). If rallies extend beyond five shots, Bonzi’s variety usually tilts the exchange.

Both men arrive match-tough from qualifying, so fatigue should not factor. Conditions in Mallorca are typically hot with a lively bounce, favouring clean ball-strikers—slightly more toward Bonzi’s flatter strokes than Holt’s heavier topspin.

🔮 Prediction

Prediction: Bonzi in 2 sets
Tighter than the odds suggest, but Bonzi’s grass pedigree and tactical variety should prevail.

📊 Tale of the Tape

• 2025 W/L: Bonzi 14–15 • Holt 37–17 (mostly Challenger)
• Grass W/L (career): Bonzi 26–15 • Holt 7–4
• H2H: Bonzi leads 1–0 (Granby 2024)
• Best 2025 Result: Bonzi – QF Madrid (d. Hurkacz) • Holt – SF Birmingham Challenger