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Kyle Edmund will be looking to restart his 2020 season on a strong note as he faces off against Kevin Anderson in the first round of the Cincinnati Masters in New York on Saturday.
Edmund has been quite up-and-down in 2020 so far. After a quarterfinal appearance in Auckland, the Brit suffered a straight-sets drubbing at the hands of Dusan Lajovic in the first round of the Australian Open. He then rebounded to win the New York Open, before another quarterfinal appearance in Acapulco.
Edmund has been very active during the lockdown though, with some impressive performances in the Batlle of the Brits exhibition tournament.
His opponent, two-time Grand Slam runner-up Kevin Anderson, comes into the match on the back of multiple injuries. The South African has slipped to No. 123 in the ATP rankings, and he has used a Protected Ranking to get into the Cincinnati main draw.
The 34-year-old has not had much joy on the tour since Wimbledon last year. At the start of 2020 he suffered a second-round defeat at the Australian Open and a first-round loss at the New York Open.
Kyle Edmund vs Kevin Anderson head-to-head
The match at the Western & Southern Open will be the third meeting between Kyle Edmund and Kevin Anderson. And the expectations from it will be high, given that the two previous meetings were five-set epics.
Their first-round match at the 2018 Australian Open went right to the distance, with a final score of 6-7 6-3 3-6 6-3 6-4 in Edmund's favor. Before that they met in the third round of Roland Garros 2017, where Anderson overturned a two sets to one deficit to win 6-7 7-6 5-7 6-1 6-4.
That means the head-to-head currently stands at 1-1, with very little separating the two.
Kyle Edmund vs Kevin Anderson prediction
Given Kevin Anderson's history with injuries and his lack of match play over the last 18 months, Kyle Edmund comes into the match as the favorite.
To cause an upset, Anderson will look to use his biggest asset - his massive serve - to take control of a majority of the points. That said, the South African's serve hasn't been at its best ever since he has come back from his injury break.
The matchup between both players' flat and powerful forehands, however, will likely be a treat to watch.
Prediction: Kyle Edmund to win in straight sets.
Match details
Tournament: Western and Southern Open 2020
Venue: New York, USA
Category: ATP Masters 1000
Surface: Outdoor Hardcourt
Prize money: $4,674,780
Live Telecast: India - Sony Ten 2 | USA - Tennis Channel / ESPN
Match timing: 12:15 pm EDT, 9:45 pm IST
