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Match Details
Fixture: (3) Carlos Alcaraz vs (Q) Dusan Lajovic
Date: May 9, 2025
Tournament: Italian Open
Round: Second Round (Round of 64)
Venue: Foro Italico, Rome, Italy
Surface: Clay
Category: ATP Masters 1000
Prize Money: €8,055,385
Live Telecast: USA - Tennis Channel | UK - Sky Sports | Canada - TSN
Carlos Alcaraz vs Dusan Lajovic preview
Third seed Carlos Alcaraz is all set to begin his campaign at the 2025 Italian Open with a second-round clash against Serbian qualifier Dusan Lajovic.
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2025 has been a good year for Alcaraz so far, as the Spaniard has reached three finals and won two titles during the season. He first won the ABN Amro Open in February, his maiden indoor hardcourt title, with a 6-4, 3-6, 6-2 win against Alex de Minaur.
After a disappointing Sunshine Double, in which he failed to defend his Indian Wells title and suffered a shock opening-round exit in Miami, the Spaniard responded in style in the clay season. He won the Monte-Carlo Masters with wins over the likes of Francisco Cerundolo, Arthur Fils, and Alejandro Davidovich Fokina to reach the final, where he won 3-6, 6-1, 6-0 against Lorenzo Musetti.
Alcaraz maintained his momentum to reach the final in Barcelona. However, on that occasion, he lost 6-7 (6), 2-6 against Holger Rune. In Rome, he got a bye in the first round as he was a seeded player.
Meanwhile, Dusan Lajovic only had three wins on the ATP Tour before the Italian Open. The Serb last won a match during the BNP Paribas Open, and has failed to win consecutive matches at any event. The clay-court season has seen him eliminated in the opening round in Bucharest, Monte Carlo, and Madrid.
However, Lajovic started well at the Italian Open, winning 7-5, 6-7 (5), 6-3 against Ethan Quinn and winning 6-1, 4-6, 6-3 against Cameron Norrie to enter the main draw. Once in the main draw, he began his campaign with a 7-5, 6-1 win over Yoshihito Nishioka in the first round.
Carlos Alcaraz vs Dusan Lajovic head-to-head
Alcaraz has a 4-0 head-to-head record against Lajovic, with the Spaniard winning the last match 6-0, 7-6 (5) at the 2023 Miami Open.
Carlos Alcaraz vs Dusan Lajovic odds
(Odds sourced from BetMGM)
Carlos Alcaraz vs Dusan Lajovic prediction
In his short career so far, Carlos Alcaraz has made a huge impact on all surfaces, especially on clay. The Spaniard has already won three Masters 1000 titles on the surface, and he is the defending French Open champion. Additionally, he has an 83 percent win rate on clay, and he has won nine of the ten clay-court matches he has played in 2025.
Meanwhile, all of Lajovic's three career finals have come on clay, including a Masters 1000 final in Monte-Carlo back in 2019. The Serb has two titles on the surface, the last of which came at the 2023 Banja Luka Open, where he won 6-3, 4-6, 6-4 against Andrey Rublev in the final.
Alcaraz is the heavy favorite to win the upcoming match as he is in terrific form on clay and has a dominant head-to-head record against Lajovic.
Pick- Alcaraz to win in straight sets
