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Match details
Fixture: Grigor Dimitrov vs Jannik Sinner
Date: 18 September 2020
Tournament: Italian Open 2020
Round: Third round (Round of 16)
Venue: Rome, Italy
Category: ATP Masters 1000
Surface: Red clay
Prize money: €3,465,045
Match timing: 11 am CEST, 2.30 pm IST
Live telecast: USA - Tennis Channel / ESPN | India - Sony Six
Grigor Dimitrov vs Jannik Sinner preview
Jannik Sinner will be looking to continue his great run at the 2020 Rome Masters when he steps out on court on Friday for his third round match.
The Italian teenager did extremely well to come through against a volatile Benoit Paire in the first round. He followed that up with a much bigger win over third seed Stefanos Tsitsipas in the second.
Sinner is now set to battle former semifinalist and 15th seed Grigor Dimitrov for a spot in the quarterfinals of the tournament.
The Bulgarian is beginning to find his best tennis following a few underwhelming results on his return to tour. Dimitrov made early exits on the hardcourts in New York, but has scored a couple of convincing wins in the Italian capital this week.
He overcame a slow start to oust Italy's Gianluca Mager 7-5, 6-1 in the first round, before brushing aside the challenge from Yoshihito Nishioka in the second 6-1, 6-0.
Those wins, particularly the one against Nishioka, will have given Dimitrov some much-needed confidence heading into a big match like this one. He was ruthless on serve, dropping just one point behind the first delivery, and will need to post similar numbers to do well against Sinner.
Grigor Dimitrov vs Jannik Sinner head-to-head
The two men have never crossed paths on tour before, so their current head-to-head stands at 0-0. And while both Dimitrov and Sinner prefer hardcourt to the slower clay, the former does have far more experience of playing on the surface.
Grigor Dimitrov vs Jannik Sinner prediction
This is a fairly well balanced match-up, and could well go down to the wire. Jannik Sinner, however, could have a slight advantage by dint of having already played a tough three-setter this week. Grigor Dimitrov, on the other hand, is yet to be fully tested.
The young Italian definitely has the game to push the Bulgarian past his breaking point. His ability to maintain that level for another three-set battle is likely to determine the outcome of this one.
Prediction: Jannik Sinner to win in three sets.
