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Match details
Fixture: Taylor Fritz vs Tomas Machac
Date: 27 September 2020
Tournament: Roland Garros 2020
Round: First round (Round of 128)
Venue: Paris, France
Category: Grand Slam
Surface: Red clay
Prize money: Approx €38,000,000
Match timing: Approx. 1 pm CEST, 4.30 pm IST
Live telecast: USA - NBC Sports / Tennis Channel | India - Star Sports Select | Europe - Eurosport
Taylor Fritz vs Tomas Machac preview
Big-serving American Taylor Fritz will open his 2020 French Open campaign against qualifier Tomas Machac on Sunday.
The American has endured a torrid claycourt swing so far, having lost his opening match at both Rome and Hamburg. But Fritz has been blessed with a rather straightforward (at least on paper) opening few rounds at Roland Garros, and he would be hoping to make the most of that.
Fritz is known for his first-strike brand of tennis, where he serves big and follows it up with explosive winners off his forehand. The slow nature of clay used to blunt the effectiveness of that tactic earlier, but Fritz has learned to be more consistent with his groundstrokes to overcome that problem.
The American has never gone beyond the second round at Roland Garros, and he will be looking to improve on that record.
Tomas Machac, on the other hand, is a greenhorn in every sense of the word. The Czech will be playing in his very first main draw at a Grand Slam event.
The 19-year-old usually plies his trade on the Challenger and Futures circuit, and he will play the biggest match of his career on Sunday. Needless to say, Taylor Fritz will also be the highest-ranked opponent that Machac has faced so far.
Tomas Machac has nothing to lose though, and can only learn from this experience should things go south against Fritz.
Taylor Fritz vs Tomas Machac head-to-head
The head-to-head between Taylor Fritz and Tomas Machac is at 0-0 as they have never played on the tour before.
Taylor Fritz vs Tomas Machac prediction
Despite his recent poor form on clay, Taylor Fritz is more than a capable player on the surface. The American has enjoyed success at the junior French Open in the past (runner-up in 2015), and it shouldn’t be a surprise if he finally makes a good run at Roland Garros.
Machac can pose a few questions to Fritz with his inside-out forehand, but he’ll have to first make inroads on the American’s serve. The Czech might look to hit a few sliced and dinked returns to deal with Fritz's delivery.
Being on the big stage for the first time in his career, Tomas Machac will look to give it his all against Taylor Fritz. However, outplaying the American over five sets might be too tall an order for the Czech.
Prediction: Taylor Fritz to win in straight sets.
