Paris Masters 2020: Filip Krajinovic vs Feliciano Lopez preview, head-to-head & prediction
Match details
Fixture: Filip Krajinović vs Feliciano Lopez
Date: 2 November 2020
Tournament: Paris Masters 2020
Round: Round of 64 (1st round)
Venue: Paris, France
Category: ATP Masters 1000
Surface: Indoor hardcourt
Prize money: €3,901,015
Match timing: 11 am local time, 3.30 pm IST
Live telecast: USA - ESPN / Tennis Channel | India - Sony Six
Filip Krajinovic vs Feliciano Lopez preview
Filip Krajinovic is back to the venue of the best result of his career. In 2017, the Serbian player qualified for the Paris Masters, and scored wins over Yuichi Sugita, Sam Querrey, Nicolas Mahut, (Rafael Nadal pulled out of their quarterfinal due to injury) and John Isner to become the first qualifier to reach a Masters final since 2012.
Krajinovic ended up losing to American Jack Sock in the final, but the result moved him into the top 35 for the first time in his career. After peaking at No. 26 in the rankings in April 2018, the 28-year-old had several injuries and thereafter dropped out of the top 100. But he did reach two ATP 250 finals in 2019, before once again equaling his career-best ranking of No. 26 earlier this year.
Now ranked 30th in the world, Krajinovic will take on Feliciano Lopez in the first round of the Paris Masters.
Feliciano Lopez is among the veterans on the tour at the age of 39, and a former World No. 12. The Spaniard is ranked No. 63 in the world and owns the record for longest streak of consecutive Grand Slam appearances at 74.
Lopez has reached the singles quarterfinals at Wimbledon and the US Open during his distinguished career, and has also been a French Open men's doubles winner (in 2016).
Filip Krajinovic vs Feliciano Lopez head-to-head
Filip Krajinovic leads the head-to-head against Feliciano Lopez 1-0. Krajinovic won their round of 16 encounter at Beijing 2018 in straight sets.
Filip Krajinovic vs Feliciano Lopez prediction
After the tour resumed in August, Filip Krajinovic reached the quarterfinals of the Western & Southern Open in New York, which included a win over Dominic Thiem. He also made the third round of the US Open and the third round of the Italian Open, but has lost in the first round of his past three events - the French Open, Cologne and Vienna.
Feliciano Lopez meanwhile has posted a 3-5 record on the circuit since the tour resumed. He picked up two wins in Kitzbuhel and one in Antwerp, but lost his first match at the US Open, French Open and St. Petersburg.
The Spaniard looks to attack the net at every opportunity, and the indoor hardcourts at Paris-Bercy will certainly help his style of play. Krajinovic, on the other hand, enjoys playing from the baseline; the Serb will need to keep his groundstrokes consistently deep so as to prevent Lopez from going on the charge.
Krajinovic is younger than the Spaniard, and has also been in better form since the resumption of the tour. Moreover, his 2017 run in Paris will always be a source of motivation for the 28-year-old, which gives him a distinct edge in this encounter.
Prediction: Filip Krajinovic to win in three sets.