Dusan Lajovic vs Kevin Anderson: French Open Preview and Prediction

22nd seed Dusan Lajovic sets up an exciting clash against Kevin Anderson in the second round of the French Open. 

Lajovic outlasted Italian Gianluca Mager in four sets to begin his campaign. Anderson had a comfortable start defeating Laslo Dere in straight sets.

Head to Head record 

Anderson leads the head to head record 2-0 against Lajovic. After early exits in Rome and Hamburg, Anderson showed some glimpses of his vintage form. 

He utilized his powerful serve and forehand to perfection overpowering Dere. Though the conditions were sluggish, the South African smashed 30 winners and his return of serve was top-notch. 

Lajovic is a gifted clay-court player and his game is well suited to the surface. Like Anderson, he also has a good returning ability. 

The Serb has an upper hand with respect to form having finished as a quarter-finalist in the recently concluded Hamburg Open. 

Despite achieving success on hard-courts and grass, Anderson has not had a good experience in Roland Garros crossed the fourth round only twice in his career.

Lajovic will depend on his potent kick-serve to get a few quick points against Anderson. He will look to mix variety in his game and use heavy topspin to move the South African around the court and tire him down. 

His heavy baseline groundstrokes will be in sync with the slow conditions and the heavy ball. He is also a good mover on the surface. 

Anderson recently made a suggestion to the authorities to introduce a fifth-set tie-break in the French Open in sync with the other majors in order to reduce the demand on players. 

His remarks come a day after Lorenzo Giustino and Corentin Moutet played a marathon six-hour and five-minute match which is the second-longest in the history of the tournament. 

Having recovered from injuries that cut short his season last year, he is slowly getting back into the groove. 

However, his one-strike approach is not very effective in getting out of trouble on clay. He needs his forehand to keep firing to put Lajovic on the backfoot. 

Prediction - Kevin Anderson to win in four sets 

Featured Image Credits: Reuters