Editor’s note: This story was translated from ATPTour.com/es.

The Mallorca Championships is one of the eight tournaments on the calendar that make up the grass swing. Its director, Toni Nadal, spoke to ATPTour.com about the peculiarities of the surface on which this ATP 250 tournament is played.

What do you need to play well on grass?
On grass the concept of tennis changes completely. While on clay you have to be a solid player with powerful and consistent shots from the baseline, here the court helps you when you have a good serve. When you hit the ball you don’t need so much power, but you have to hit it a little lower to make it hard for the opponent to return and that’s something that’s kind of forgotten in Spanish tennis, playing on grass.

Which players embody that style of tennis?
Roger Federer. Also, Pete Sampras. And for the Spaniards, Feliciano Lopez, although Rafael [Nadal] has obviously had better results. I think Feli’s game was more suited to it in the strict sense of the grass game. 

Speaking of Feliciano Lopez, he is one of the attractions at the Mallorca Championships, where he is ending his career…
We are lucky to have practically the biggest specialist here. It is true that Rafael was too, but Feliciano Lopez I think is the clearest exponent of grass tennis, with a powerful serve, with plenty of spin. He has some flat slice shots, which are very difficult for the opponent to return and he’s also a good volleyer. That’s what you need to play here.

You’ve mentioned your nephew twice. Can you describe the process of making him into a great grass-court player?

Rafael is a player that adapted well to the grass court, and until he had knee problems, I think he was a great grass-court player. He played in the Wimbledon final in 2006 and 2007. He won in 2008. In 2009 he didn’t play, in 2010 he won a second title and in 2011 he was in the final again. That is, he played five consecutive finals at Wimbledon, which demonstrates his level.

Why did he adapt so well, even though it’s not his favourite surface?
Rafael adapted well because, despite not having a big serve, he had very good movement around the court, good mobility, his volley was good enough and his speed allowed him to play very well at Wimbledon. I think if he hadn’t had the knee injury that made it difficult to play on that surface, he would have won there more times. 

You weren’t lucky enough to have a tournament at home like the Mallorca Championships you now direct.

No, unfortunately for us, the grass court was unusual. It was rare to play there. If we’d had this tournament at that time, we would have allowed ourselves to prepare here a certain time in advance, but that’s what there was at that time.That’s why, when I speak to those that run Spanish tennis, I say to them: “You don’t know how lucky you are to have a tournament of these characteristics here, a quality event, on a surface that’s quite unusual for us.” [Manuel] Santana, to prepare for the Wimbledon he won, had to go to Australia. Nowadays you can come here and prepare and play with quality players here in Mallorca.

How important are the Mallorca Championships for the island?
It’s hugely important. Having been able to get all the people together who have come to play this tournament in the last three years is difficult to do. The Mallorca Championships has done that. We’ve had the opportunity to see [Stefanos] Tsitsipas, [Novak] Djokovic, [Daniil] Medvedev and [Dominic] Thiem.

The opportunity the island has had to welcome these players is important for tennis lovers, but it’s also good in terms of communication to have an event of this category, which enhances our island as a sporting destination. I think it’s essential for the island.

What are your views on the 2023 edition?
The tournament is growing every year. I think that both the event and the infrastructure in general is growing, and people notice that. This tournament, although it’s new, after just three years on the Tour — and we know how difficult it is at first to put events of this category on and for them to work immediately — is establishing itself further.

I believe the players are happy to play here and although this year we’ve had problems with injuries to several global players, the lineup is still very good. I know, because I spoke to the players, they are very happy, both with their treatment and everything that comes with playing here.

Finally, are there any active players that have caught your eye on this surface?
Nowadays, tennis is very level, it has become a scientific sport — like almost all the others — in which you know what you have to do at all times, what you need to do to break down your opponent’s game. Evidently, the most special player today is Carlos Alcaraz, and he is the player to beat because of his speed and the intensity of his game.

It’s true that Djokovic is still up there and he’s proving his level. Despite the fact that he is now 36 and despite the fact that he is far from the level he played in 2011 and 2015, he is still the man to beat, having won the Australian Open and Roland Garros.

There are lot of moving pieces at the Isner household in Wimbledon Village this fortnight.

John Isner, the former Top 10 American, who reached the semi-finals at The Championships in 2018, has brought wife Maddie and their four children to the The All England Club, where he has made his share of history over the years.

Knowing that at 38 future Wimbledon appearances are not guaranteed, Isner said that he wanted to bring his newly expand family, including two-month-old son, Chapel, to London.

“That had a lot to do with it,” he said. “My daughter (Hunter Grace, 4) was here in 2019 but she doesn’t remember that. In 2020 there wasn’t a Wimbledon and last year the family didn’t come, so it made sense for us all to make the trip this year.

“It certainly makes things easier to be renting a house in the village that has a backyard. My daughter and son share a room like they do at home. We’re doing a good job of making it feel like a home away from home and we’re enjoying it so far.”

The Isners, including Hobbs (3) and Mack (1 ½) also have extra company in London. Coach David Macpherson and his partner, Jahki, are housemates, as is nanny, Sarah.

“We have Sarah, who is awesome; the kids love her. Jahki is a massive help as well. She does so much with the kids and they adore her. Macca is a huge help. We have it all covered. It’s not as difficult as it may seem. With the free time I have to spend away from the courts, this is exactly what I want to be doing.

“Before you leave Dallas, making the trip feels a little daunting, but when you get here it’s great. The kids have been sleeping through the night, so I’m not on duty all the time. I’m taking care of my business at the court. And of course my wife has done an incredible job with them all.”

In 2010 Isner defeated Nicolas Mahut 70-68 in the fifth set of an 11-hour, five-minute epic on Court 18, serving a world-record 113 aces in the process. He also pushed Kevin Anderson to 26-24 in the fifth of the 2018 semi-finals.

But when he takes the court Monday against Spain’s Jaume Munar, all Isner will be thinking about is how to make it into the second round in his first match of the grass season — while hopefully making a memory for at least one of his children. “We haven’t talked about if any of the kids will make it to the match, but if anyone does it will be Hunter Grace,” he said. “We’ll figure that out Sunday.”

In addition to caring for his kids, Isner also takes pleasure in putting his cooking skills to good use for his entourage. Friday night featured a cookout.

“I cook a lot at home. I love to cook,” Isner said. “I love going to the grocery store, I love picking up food, I love to cook. I even like to clean.

“Last night we put some steaks on the grill and Jahki prepared rice, green beans and a salad; it was a fantastic meal. We ate outside with the birds taking care of the scraps falling on the ground. It’s so special, and you can’t replicate this on tour anywhere else. It’s what makes Wimbledon unique.”

Christopher Eubanks continued his breakthrough season Saturday when he collected his maiden ATP Tour title at the Mallorca Championships.

Following his triumph, the American is set to debut inside the Top 50 of the Pepperstone ATP Rankings at No. 43 entering Wimbledon. The 27-year-old caught up with ATPTour.com to reflect on being crowned champion at the ATP 250 grass-court event.

What does this mean to you to win your first title?
It means everything. It means that a lot of the hard work that I’ve been doing, and the persistence that I’ve tried to have throughout the ups and downs of my career, it’s all worth it. It’s all worth it for this moment right here, to be standing here as a champion of an ATP event. It means the world and it’s something really special.

If someone said to you at the start of the season that you would win your first title this year, would you have picked grass as a surface you would do it on?
Absolutely not. My grass-court season got off to a bit of a rough start at the Surbiton Challenger, I lost in the second round. I began to question whether or not I could be good on the surface. I didn’t think that I could.

But my coach, Ruan Roelofse, and I, we put in a lot of work on the grass to try and understand the footing and the shots and everything that I would need to have in order to be successful. And it all paid off this week.

Take a moment to acknowledge some of the key figures in your life and career who have helped you reach this milestone.
There’s so many of them. I have to start with my family, my family has been behind me. My mom [Carla], my dad [Mark], my older brother [Mark]. Donald Young and his family were so, so influential in my career. He allowed me to travel with him as a practice partner from the time I was 15 years old. So I got to see professional tennis up close and then the more you see it, the more you actually believe that you can do it.

Jarmere Jenkins and his family. He is like a big brother to me, continues to mentor me consistently. Coco Gauff and her family are like a second family, that’s like my little sister, so I’m probably willing to bet I have a text message or something from her. My college coaches Kenny Thorne, Kevin King, and Derek Schwandt, they really pushed me.

Somebody that I really want to shout-out is Kim Clijsters, because after my first week on grass, I sent Kim a text and I said, ‘Grass is the stupidest surface to play tennis on, I don’t know why we’re playing on a court that’s so uneven, I can’t have my footing!’ And Kim sent me a really positive message back, just telling me areas that she struggled on the grass and things to work on to feel more and more comfortable on it. So I have to give her a huge, huge shout-out. I’m looking forward to giving her a call.

You started the year outside the Top 120, now you have cracked the Top 50. Did you think this was possible? What does it mean to be a Top 50 player?
I thought it was possible, I didn’t know if I would do it. I didn’t know if I could be consistent enough to really put together four, five matches multiple times. I was able to do it in Miami, I was able to do it here. So I think it was more so a consistency question for myself, not necessarily if I have the game to do it. And I was able to do it. I think I kind of proved something to myself and now it’s added motivation to continue working harder.

How much confidence and self belief did your quarter-final run in Miami give you?
I think it gave me a lot. It was the first time in which I’ve put together that many matches against those quality of opponents. So after Miami, I had to sit back and look and say, ‘You know what? Maybe I can be consistent, I’m not just one hot match, one cold match, maybe I can put things together.’ I think that was a huge, huge, huge part of my success this week, just believing that I could do it.

How excited are you for your Wimbledon main-draw debut, especially coming to the event with top form?
Really, really excited. Never played Wimbledon main draw. So that’s going to be something new altogether. I’m looking forward to getting there. I have a practice set tomorrow at Aorangi [Park]. I’m really excited to hop on the plane, get to London, and get on the Wimbledon grounds. It’s going to be such an honour.

How did you start playing tennis? What are some of your early memories playing the sport?
I have an older brother who was already involved in tennis when I was born. So when I came along, my dad was working with my older brother. And then I started out at the age where I could run and walk, it was just easy to bring me out of the house to go with them to the tennis courts. And then when I could run and I was athletic enough to kind of stay on my feet, my dad put a tennis racquet in my hand. So it kind of started with my dad and my older brother.

What do you consider to be your biggest passion outside of tennis?
Probably broadcasting. I really, really enjoy doing commentary for Tennis Channel. I’ve been able to do it a few times. And it’s something that sparked my interest back in 2021, when I got to see some of my friends, who unfortunately were out with injuries, start to do broadcasts and I said, ‘That looks like it could be a lot of fun, maybe I should give it a try!’

I think my first time was last year during the clay-court season. I had a chance to do it and I said ‘Man, this is a lot of fun.’ It’s fun to be able to watch tennis, talk tennis, something I do in my free time anyway. So might as well go ahead and do it a little bit more formally.

How will it feel to be playing in your home city of Atlanta later this month when you’re introduced as an ATP Tour champion?
It’s going to be incredible, I’ve had so many memories at that tournament. Some of my best memories throughout my career have come at that tournament, so it’s going to be really fun stepping foot on the court and hearing them say, ‘ATP Tour champion’.

Yuki Bhambri and Lloyd Harris continued the perfect start to their partnership by winning the Mallorca Championships doubles title on Saturday. Now 4-0 as a pair, the Indian-South African duo defeated Robin Haase and Philipp Oswald 6-3, 6-4 in the ATP 250 final, completing their run without losing a set.

The trophy is the first ATP Tour crown for both men across both singles and doubles. Only Harris had previously reached a tour-level final, twice in singles and once before in doubles.

“Definitely a lot of fun. We went in with no expectations I think this week,” said the 30-year-old Bhambri. “We just enjoyed playing, took it match by match and had a great tournament. It’s a great city, a great place and I really enjoyed playing here.”

“We had so much fun out there,” added Harris, 26, who became the first South African to win an ATP Tour title since Raven Klaasen last year in Seoul. “We really enjoyed it. I didn’t even know I was going to play this week. For me, it’s just all a bonus. Super stoked with the title.”

After knocking out fourth seeds Marcel Granollers and Horacio Zeballos in the quarter-finals and top seeds Santiago Gonzalez and Edouard Roger-Vasselin in the semis, Bhambri and Harris converted on four of six break points in their final victory. Aided by eight aces, they won 90 per cent of their first-serve points and faced just two break points, saving one.

Bhambri moved up to No. 58 in the Pepperstone ATP Doubles Live Rankings with the title, setting himself up for a new career high.

Haase and Oswald fell to 1-2 in ATP Tour finals as a team with the defeat.

Daniil Medvedev’s major record is not to be sniffed at. The World No. 3 has lifted the US Open trophy, reached two finals at the Australian Open and the quarter-finals at Roland Garros.

The 27-year-old has always struggled to find his top level at Wimbledon, though, with his best result a run to the fourth round in 2021. Medvedev is determined to change the record this fortnight as he seeks a sixth tour-level title of the season in London.

“The fact that Wimbledon for the moment is my worst slam in terms of results, maximum fourth round. I want to try to improve it, I want to try to play well. I have big goals for this year,” Medvedev said in his pre-tournament press conference on Saturday.

“I’m really looking forward because the first two Slams were not as I expected. This can happen. I have even more kind of goals towards Wimbledon to try to show my best tennis.”

Having arrived on Tuesday, Medvedev feels his preparations have gone well at SW19. The 20-time tour-level champion will face British wild card Arthur Fery in the first round and is excited to soak up the atmosphere at the grass-court major.

“I definitely feel like every time you come to Wimbledon, it’s the same feeling, especially the first day… The first day you come, it was the same for me in juniors, you’re like, ‘Wow, that must be the best place in the world’. Every flower seems to be in the right order, the right colour. The locker rooms are unbelievable. Food is great. I mean, the atmosphere around the site itself, first day you always say, ‘Wow, that’s the best tournament’.

“The only bad thing is when you lose, you go crazy. You’re like, ‘No, I played so bad’. That’s why I want to try to make it even a happier place for me.”

Medvedev, currently third in the Pepperstone ATP Live Race To Turin, has struggled at Wimbledon but has shown promising signs on grass at other tour-level events. In 2021 he lifted his only trophy on the surface in Mallorca, before reaching finals in Halle and ‘s-Hertogenbosch in 2022.

“I feel like I can play well on grass,” Medvedev said. “Last year I made two finals in the three tournaments that I played. Just need to find my way, find my rhythm. That’s the last tournament where I can do it.”

Medvedev is in the top half of the draw alongside World No. 1 Carlos Alcaraz and Greek Stefanos Tsitsipas, who Medvedev is seeded to meet in the quarter-finals.

Taylor Fritz will make his seventh appearance at Wimbledon when he takes to court on Monday against Germany’s Yannick Hanfmann.

The ninth-seeded American, who advanced to the quarter-finals last year, caught up with ATPTour.com ahead of his opening match to discuss his favourite Wimbledon memories, moments and much more…

What is your first Wimbledon memory?
I didn’t really watch a lot of tennis growing up, but one memory I do have is that crazy Rafa and Fed final. It was some match.

What is your first memory of playing at Wimbledon?
I played as a junior. It was really cool. It is the most prestigious tournament in tennis, so the first time there was a wow feeling. ‘I’m here, I made it’. You take a step back and kind of look at it once you get there.

What is your favourite moment at Wimbledon?
I think just the first time I was there as a junior. I made a really big breakthrough and probably started to think that maybe I could actually be a successful professional tennis player. Because I was not ranked that high or anything as a junior. I made the semi-finals of the juniors when I was 16. And I think that’s really when I was like, ‘Wow, maybe this is something I might actually be good enough to do, to become a professional’.

And then of course, last year winning my round of 16 match to make quarter-finals for the first time. That was a big moment for me. I’d never been to quarter-finals of a Slam.

Do you have a favourite Wimbledon tradition?
I think at times the little details might be a little strict. But at the end of the day, I think all the traditions are a big part. It’s good. I think the tradition in the end is what makes Wimbledon, Wimbledon. And it wouldn’t quite be the same without the all-white, without the strawberries and cream. I think if these things were to change, Wimbledon wouldn’t quite be Wimbledon.

Do you have a favourite court at Wimbledon?
Not yet. But we will see after this year.

What is your favourite part about being in London?
It’s definitely nice after traveling around Europe a lot to be in another English-speaking country. That’s something that you miss a lot. I just enjoy being here. The buzz around Wimbledon’s always great. It’s great to feel the energy of people, who are really excited and care about tennis.