Lincoln Predictions & Picks — July 19, 2026

Sunday's Lincoln semifinal pits Mark Lajal against Y. Bu on hard. Y. Bu is 5-5 across recent matches. Mark Lajal comes in at 6 wins from the last ten.

This is the first career meeting between the two, which means no head-to-head baggage on either side of the net.

The underlying stats are tight across the board — this is a matchup decided by a handful of points. Lajal comes in off a compressed schedule; Bu comes in off a compressed schedule. This one is close to a coin flip, and the lean toward Bu is exactly that — a lean.

It all comes down to Sunday at Lincoln, where Bernard Tomic faces Mark Lajal for the trophy. Bernard Tomic has won 3 in a row and 6 of the last 10 overall. Mark Lajal comes in at 6 wins from the last ten.

The two have never played — a first meeting always adds a layer of uncertainty the numbers can't fully capture.

Neither the serve numbers nor the ratings separate these two by much, which is why our number stays close to even. Tomic comes in off a compressed schedule; Lajal comes in off a compressed schedule. A tiebreak or two would surprise nobody, with Tomic fractionally more likely to land the big points.