Roland Garros: Taylor Fritz vs Lorenzo Sonego preview, head-to-head & prediction | French Open 2020
Match details
Fixture: Taylor Fritz vs Lorenzo Sonego
Date: 2 October 2020
Tournament: Roland Garros 2020
Round: Third round (Round of 32)
Venue: Paris, France
Category: Grand Slam
Surface: Red clay
Prize money: Approx. €38,000,000
Match timing: Approx. 1 pm CEST, 4.30 pm IST
Live telecast: USA - NBC / Tennis Channel | India - Star Sports / Disney+ Hotstar VIP
Also check out: The Complete French Open 2020 Schedule
Taylor Fritz vs Lorenzo Sonego preview
Taylor Fritz, the No. 27 seed at Roland Garros 2020, beat Moldova's Radu Albot in straight sets in the second round. It was an easy 6-3, 6-2, 6-4 victory, much to the relief of the American who had played a marathon five-setter against Tomas Machac before that.
Italy's Lorenzo Sonego has had a similar campaign at the French Open so far. The 25-year-old played a five-setter against Emilio Gomez in his opening match before clinching a fairly routine victory against Alexander Bublik in the Round of 64.
Sonego's performance against the Kazakh was particularly impressive, as he registered a 7-6(8), 6-1, 7-5 win to reach the third round at Roland Garros for the first time in his career.
Taylor Fritz vs Lorenzo Sonego head-to-head
Taylor Fritz and Lorenzo Sonego have locked horns once on tour before, with the American leading the head-to-head 1-0.
Their sole main draw encounter took place in the first round of Wimbledon 2018, where Fritz came back from one set down to win 3-6, 6-3, 6-2, 6-2. They had also faced off in the qualifiers at Queen's that year, where the American won in three sets.
Fritz and Sonego have never played against each other on clay.
Taylor Fritz vs Lorenzo Sonego prediction
This promises to be an exciting encounter. While Taylor Fritz has beaten Lorenzo Sonego twice in the past, both of those matches were on grass.
The Italian thrives on clay, and has won five out of his six Challengers and Futures titles on the surface. He has the physicality and fitness required to succeed on the slow courts of Paris, along with excellent movement and reflexes.
Fritz, on the other hand, is one of the best servers on tour right now. He has already smacked 30 aces in just two rounds at Roland Garros, while winning 77% of his first-serve points.
The 22-year-old also has solid groundstrokes off both wings. All things considered, he might have just enough in his game to edge out Sonego in the Round of 32.
Prediction: Taylor Fritz to win in four sets.