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Match details
Fixture: (2) Daniil Medvedev vs Alexander Bublik
Date: 31 May 2021
Tournament: Roland Garros 2021
Round: First round (Round of 128)
Venue: Paris, France
Category: Grand Slam
Surface: Red Clay
Prize money: €17,171,108
Match timing: Approx. 2 pm local time, 12 pm GMT, 8 am EST, 5.30 pm IST
Live telecast: USA - NBC Sports / Tennis Channel | UK - ITV | India - Star Sports / Disney+ Hotstar VIP
Daniil Medvedev vs Alexander Bublik preview
Australian Open runner-up Daniil Medvedev will face the enigmatic Kazakh Alexander Bublik in a blockbuster opening-round match at Roland Garros 2021.
After ending 2020 on a high with a win in the ATP Finals, Medvedev started the new year with a bang, reaching the final in Melbourne. The Russian's form saw him overtake Rafael Nadal and reach a career-high World No. 2 in the ATP rankings.
But the 25-year-old has never found life easy on clay and is yet to win a match at Roland Garros despite featuring in the main draw on as many as four occasions.
Medvedev was handed a relatively straightforward draw this year with both Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic in the other half, so this would be his best chance to make a deep run in Paris.
Medvedev's first-round opponent Alexander Bublik doesn't exactly enjoy playing on the red dirt either.
But the World No. 37 has faired relatively better than his Russian counterpart on the surface this year; Bublik reached the last-eight in Madrid, where the conditions suit his big-hitting game. However, he followed that up with an opening-round loss to Marin Cilin in Rome.
Bublik, 23, beat home favorite Gael Monfils in the first round at last year's French Open before falling to Lorenzo Sonego in the second. He will hope to make a bigger impact in the French capital this year.
Daniil Medvedev vs Alexander Bublik head-to-head
Daniil Medvedev and Alexander Bublik have met only once on the ATP tour, back in 2016 on the indoor hardcourts of St. Petersburg. Medvedev won the match after losing only four games.
Thus, the head-to-head currently stands at 1-0 in favor of the Russian.
Daniil Medvedev vs Alexander Bublik prediction
Daniil Medvedev is the second best player in the world at the moment, but that hasn't quite reflected in his performances on clay.
Medvedev's playing style, while very effective on hardcourts, isn't suited to the red dirt. His flat groundstrokes lack penetration on clay and the absence of topspin on his forehand is his undoing. Moreover, his serve, which often produces cheap points on faster surfaces, doesn't have the same effect on clay.
Alexander Bublik has similar problems, but he seems to have dealt with them better than the Russian, who has a tendency to lose his cool when things do not go his way.
This promises to be an extremely entertaining encounter between two flashy players with loads of tricks up their sleeves.
Prediction: Alexander Bublik to win in four sets
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