Roland Garros 2021: Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova vs Ajla Tomljanovic preview, head-to-head & prediction

Match details

Fixture: (31) Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova vs Ajla Tomljanovic

Date: 2 June 2021

Tournament: Roland Garros 2021

Round: Second round (Round of 64)

Venue: Paris, France

Category: Grand Slam

Surface: Red Clay

Prize money: €17,171,108

Match timing: Approx. 7 pm local time, 5 pm GMT, 1 pm EST, 10.30 pm IST

Live telecast: USA - NBC Sports / Tennis Channel | UK - ITV | India - Star Sports / Disney+ Hotstar VIP

Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova vs Ajla Tomljanovic preview

Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova and Ajla Tomljanovic will square off on Wednesday with a spot in the third round of Roland Garros up for grabs.

Pavlyuchenkova, who is also the 31st seed at this year's tournament, has been playing some solid tennis in recent weeks. The Russian opened her campaign in Paris with a resounding 6-4, 6-0 win over Christina McHale, and will look to carry her momentum deep into the tournament.

Ajla Tomljanovic

Tomljanovic, on the other hand, has had a poor start to the 2021 season. In fact, the Aussie has won consecutive main-draw matches at only one tournament this year.

That said, Tomljanovic did manage to hold her own against the likes of Simona Halep and Naomi Osaka a few months ago. Given her solid game, she could well pose a few troubles for Pavlyuchenkova on Wednesday.

Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova vs Ajla Tomljanovic head-to-head

Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova leads Ajla Tomljanovic in the duo's current head-to-head with a 2-0 margin. Their most recent meeting came at the Phillip Island Trophy this year, with the Russian winning in three sets.

Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova vs Ajla Tomljanovic predcition

Given her recent run of good form, Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova will enter this contest as the firm favorite. But she will need to be wary of her opponent, who is no stranger to staging big upsets.

One of the most memorable runs of Ajla Tomljanovic's career came at the 2014 French Open. The Aussie stunned the likes of Agnieszka Radwanska and former winner Francesca Schiavone en route to the fourth round in Paris that year.

Tomljanovic possesses a solid baseline-oriented game that is well-suited for clay, a surface where she has reached a WTA final. But to find a way past a big-hitting opponent like Pavlyuchenkova, the 28-year-old will have to up the ante on her groundstrokes.

Pavlyuchenkova can generate a lot of power off both flanks, and she struck the ball cleanly in her first-round match. Unless Tomljanovic comes up with a way to push her back behind the baseline, the Russian is likely to power her way through to the third round.

Prediction: Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova to win in two tight sets.

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