Roland Garros: Alex de Minaur vs Marco Cecchinato preview, head-to-head & prediction | French Open 2020
Match details
Fixture: Alex de Minaur vs Marco Cecchinato
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
Timing: Approx. 2 pm CEST, 5.30 pm IST
Live telecast: USA - NBC / Tennis Channel | India - Star Sports / Disney+ Hotstar VIP
Also check out: The Complete French Open 2020 Schedule
Alex de Minaur vs Marco Cecchinato preview
21-year-old Alex de Minaur is seeded 25th at Roland Garros this year, and comes into the tournament on the back of his maiden Grand Slam quarterfinal (at the US Open). De Minaur has many hopes pinned on him in Australia, although some believe he is still a couple of years away from achieving his peak.
6 feet tall and weighing 150 pounds, De Minaur is known to be one of the fastest players on the tour. And that will serve him well on the clay courts of Paris.
The Aussie's opponent is 27-year-old Marco Cecchinato, who famously knocked out Novak Djokovic at the 2018 French Open on his way to the semifinals. Cecchinato, who broke into the top 20 of the rankings in early 2019, is now ranked No. 110 in the world; he is attempting to make a comeback to the higher echelons of the game that he once occupied.
Alex de Minaur vs Marco Cecchinato head-to-head
The two players have met four times on the tour, and Alex de Minaur leads the head-to-head 3-1. The Australian has won all of their three matches on hard court and grass - including two first-round wins at Wimbledon in 2018 and 2019 - while Cecchinato has won their only claycourt encounter - in Rome last year.
Alex de Minaur vs Marco Cecchinato prediction
Marco Cecchinato is beginning to find his form once again. He has won 10 of his 14 matches since the tour resumed, including three in qualifying this week. The Italian loves playing on clay - and especially in Paris.
“Here everything is special for me. That was the best tournament of my life," Cecchinato told the Roland Garros website. "I need to keep focused and working like today, so that I can get near my game of two years ago."
Alex de Minaur, meanwhile, is playing with a lot of confidence after his quarterfinal run at the US Open. But clay is not his favorite surface, and against the in-form Italian, he is likely to have a tough time.
Prediction: Marco Cecchinato to win in five sets.
Follow Sportskeeda to get the latest French Open 2020 Results and Schedule