Preview 2024 ATP Mallorca Championships: Monfils faces his nemesis Dominic Thiem, as Shelton and Humbert headline the draw

The ATP 250 Mallorca Championships will be held from Monday, June 24 to Saturday, June 29, 2024, with Ben Shelton and Ugo Humbert as the top favorites. The tournament will feature an exciting draw that will open with a stellar match between the 6th seed Gael Monfils and former US Open champion Dominic Thiem.

The Spanish tournament will be a final test for players before Wimbledon, with Christopher Eubanks as the defending champion, while players like Adrian Mannarino, Alejandro Tabilo, and Jordan Thompson aim for standout performances before heading to the All England Club.

As an ATP 250 tournament just a week before Wimbledon, Mallorca will have an open draw providing a good opportunity for players to spring surprises as the grass-swing nears its end. Veteran Frenchman Gael Monfils will play his first official match since the last French Open, debuting against former Grand Slam champion Dominic Thiem.

Monfils has been out of competition for a few weeks, although he participated in an exhibition event in Denmark alongside his wife Elina Svitolina against local heroes Holger Rune and Caroline Wozniacki, as reported by Alexandre Hercheux on Tennisactu.net.

Thiem announced his retirement from tennis at the end of the season at just 30 years old and will aim to leave a good impression in what will be his last appearance in a grass tournament, after confirming that he did not receive a wildcard for Wimbledon. The Austrian also leads the head-to-head against Monfils 6-0, with their last encounter being in the Round of 16 of the 2020 Australian Open.

Four main seeds of the tournament will have byes in the first round, led by American No. 14 Ben Shelton as the first seed. It hasn't been a good grass-swing for the young star, with first-round losses at the Stuttgart Open and Queen’s Club Championships to much lower-ranked opponents like James Duckworth (No. 101) and Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard (No. 67).

The Frenchmen Ugo Humbert (No. 16) and Adrian Mannarino (No. 22) will be the second and third seeds, both with proven experience on the surface and previous grass titles. The 4th seed is Chilean Alejandro Tabilo (No. 24), who has just two wins in seven matches on grass.

Other notable names in the draw include 2023 champion Christopher Eubanks (No. 42), Italians Luciano Darderi (No. 34) and Fabio Fognini (No. 97), and Queen’s Club Championships semifinalist Jordan Thompson (No. 39).