Stefanos Tsitsipas accepts Mallorca wildcard in final bid for Wimbledon prep

Desperate for time out on grass courts in competitive matches, Stefanos Tsitsipas has accepted a wildcard entry into the ATP 250 event in Mallorca.

Tsitsipas is yet to string together back-to-back wins on grass, having suffered second match defeats in both Stuttgart and Halle.

The Greek star beat Dominic Stricker in the opening round in Stuttgart but fell in the Round of 16 to eventual finalist Andy Murray.

Since then he has hit Halle but after a three-set victory over Frenchman Benjamin Bonzi he was upstaged by an inspired Nick Kyrgios to leave him 2-2 on grass for the season.

The parallel events at Eastbourne and Mallorca serve as the final ATP Tour-level preparation from the year’s third Grand Slam.

Mallorca’s field has been bolstered by the UK ban on Russian players entering the events at Queen’s and Eastbourne.

This means World No 1 Daniil Medvedev will be in the field in Spain while other confirmed high-profile entrants are Kyrgios and Denis Shapovalov.

Kyrgios taking to social media to shop for a doubles partner for the event as he aims for another deep run in a pairing at Wimbledon following his Australian Open win alongside compatriot Thanasi Kokkinakis.

Tsitsipas is among the players insulated against the loss of Wimbledon ranking points due to his poor performance in 2021. He lost in the first round at Wimbleon last season.

Depending on how well Djokovic does at Eastbourne, the loss of his rankings points from the 2021 Championships victory could see the record-breaking rankings king slip below Tsitsipas.

Tsitsipas could therefore come out of a poor grass court swing in a stronger position on the rankings at least.

It remains to be seen what kind of reception Tsitsipas gets at Wimbledon with some supporters likely to remember his bathroom break saga in his US Open clash with British icon Andy Murray.

Ahead of the grass court swing, Tsitsipas was confident he could adapt his game for success on the surface.

“I’m going to try and adapt my game to this surface,” the World No 6 said. “I think I have the game to play good on grass, too. I just need to be open-minded and adapt my game to this surface.”

Wimbledon gets underway on Monday 27 June.