The yearly trek of lawn tennis is upon us and with it one of the more unpredictable months on the tennis calendar. Grass-court tennis heavily rewards big first serves, aggression and quick hands, which means you have to unlearn everything you thought you knew from clay season. There aren’t likely to be any big surprises in this match, though. Italy’s Matteo Arnaldi isn’t some sleeper genius with a history of winning on grass (think Adrian Mannarino, as an example). The world No. 41 has won one match ever on grass; this remains true even after an attempt last week in Stuttgart (lost to Jan-Lennard Struff).
Holger Rune made the round of 16 at last year’s edition of Wimbledon, which was the last time he played on grass. And while he hasn’t won any titles, his game translates well enough that he’s above .500 on this surface. Look for the Dane to make his way into the second round.