Roland Garros: Dayana Yastremska vs Daria Gavrilova preview, head-to-head & prediction | French Open 2020
Match details
Fixture: (24) Dayana Yastremska vs Daria Gavrilova
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: 7 pm CEST, 10:30 pm IST
Live telecast: USA - NBC Sports / Tennis Channel | India - Star Sports / Disney+ Hotstar VIP
Also check out: The Complete French Open 2020 Schedule
Dayana Yastremska vs Daria Gavrilova preview
24th seed Dayana Yastremska opens her 2020 French Open campaign against unseeded Australian Daria Gavrilova on Sunday.
The mercurial Yastremska made a strong start to the season, reaching her maiden WTA Premier final in Adelaide. The 20-year-old also reached the last 16 in Qatar, the Western & Southern Open and Rome, notching up some big wins on the way.
But Yastremska has struggled to translate that form onto the big stage, losing in the second round of the Australian Open and the US Open. The Ukrainian, who recently parted ways with coach Sascha Bajin, will hope to make a deep run at Roland Garros, the final Grand Slam of the year.
Her first-round opponent Daria Gavrilova is playing her first big tournament since last year's US Open. A series of injuries have kept Gavrilova on the sidelines and she only recently returned to the court, playing an ITF tournament in France last week and advancing to the quarter-finals.
Gavrilova, whose ranking has dropped to 785, failed to win a single match at any of the four Slams last year and she will hope to right that wrong when she takes the court on Sunday.
Dayana Yastremska vs Daria Gavrilova head-to-head
Daria Gavrilova defeated Dayana Yastremska in three sets at Indian Wells last year in their only career meeting to date.
Dayana Yastremska vs Daria Gavrilova prediction
Dayana Yastremska has not yet won a main draw match at Roland Garros and this will be her best chance to get off the mark. Gavrilova, who reached the third round in Paris two years ago, enters this clash as a huge underdog having spent hardly any time on the court this year.
Yastremska is one of the most powerful players on tour and is capable of hitting winners at will off both wings. With heavier balls being used this year at the French Open, coupled with the cooler conditions, Yastremska should fancy her chances of overpowering Gavrilova from the back of the court.
Yastremska's biggest problem is her serve, with the Ukrainian coughing up double faults at an alarming rate. That's an issue she will need to address if she is to get her hands on the sport's biggest prizes.
Gavrilova, on the other hand, is more of a counter-puncher who tries to force opponents into errors. The Australian is consistent from the back of the court and does not give away too many cheap points but lacks venom in her serve and groundstrokes and can be blown away by an opponent as powerful as Yastremska.
Prediction: Dayana Yastremska to win in straight sets.
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