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Match details
Fixture: Kevin Anderson vs Dusan Lajovic
Date: 1 October 2020
Tournament: Roland Garros 2020
Round: Second round (Round of 64)
Venue: Paris, France
Category: Grand Slam
Surface: Red clay
Prize money: Approx. €38,000,000
Match timing: Approx. 4 pm CEST, 7.30 pm IST
Live telecast: USA - NBC Sports / Tennis Channel | India - Star Sports Select / Disney + Hotstar VIP
Kevin Anderson vs Dusan Lajovic preview
World No. 24 Dusan Lajovic will take on 118th-ranked Kevin Anderson in the second round of the 2020 French Open on Thursday.
The South African was in the top 10 a year ago, but injury and a severe dip in form have seen him plummet down the rankings. His current ranking hardly does justice to his quality, which has been proven on numerous occasions in the past.
That said, Anderson has endured a miserable run of form since the resumption of the tour. He got knocked out in the first round of US Open, the Rome Masters and the Hamburg Open, and at the Cincinnati Masters he could only manage to progress to the second round before losing to Stefanos Tsitsipas.
However, in his Roland Garros opening match against Laslo Djere, Anderson showed glimpses of his vintage form. He managed to use his two big weapons - the serve and forehand - to completely overpower the Serb.
The famed serve of the South African gave him plenty of joy, but he’d be more pleased about how well he returned. Anderson seemed to be enjoying the heavy conditions as he struck 30 winners and managed to keep his errors to a mere 19.
Dusan Lajovic on the other hand had a slightly trickier time in his opening round match against Gianluca Mager. The first three sets were extremely competitive, before Mager finally gave way in the fourth.
Over the last one month, Lajovic has made it to the last eight at Hamburg and the last 16 in Rome. He was able to register victories against the likes of Milos Raonic and Karen Khachanov in these runs, and needless to say he is coming in with far greater momentum than Anderson.
Kevin Anderson vs Dusan Lajovic head-to-head
Kevin Anderson leads Dusan Lajovic 2-0 in the head-to-head.
Their only encounter on clay was in 2018 (Madrid), which the South African won in three sets.
Kevin Anderson vs Dusan Lajovic prediction
This is a tricky match to call as on one end we have Dusan Lajovic who is playing well on clay, and on the other we have Kevin Anderson whose quality is well-known.
The heavier conditions that are being seen this year will undoubtedly give an upper hand to the big-hitting Protean. At the same time though, Lajovic has a game that is well suited to the surface.
The Serb’s biggest advantage would be his returning ability, especially against the mammoth serve of Anderson. It remains to be seen how well Lajovic does on his own delivery because his opponent is quite capable of pulverizing weaker ones.
Going by form, Lajovic seems to have the edge in this match. But Anderson is known to up his level at Grand Slams, and if he can do that against the Serb, he would be in with a fair shot.
Prediction: Kevin Anderson to win in five sets.
