US Open 2020: Marton Fucsovics vs Hugo Dellien preview, head-to-head & prediction
Match details
Fixture: Marton Fucsovics vs Hugo Dellien
Date: 1 September 2020
Tournament: US Open 2020
Round: First round (Round of 128)
Venue: Flushing Meadows, New York, USA
Category: Grand Slam
Surface: Outdoor hardcourt
Prize money: $39,024,000
Match timing: 5 PM EDT, 4:30 AM IST
Live telecast: USA - Tennis Channel / ESPN | India - Star Sports / Hotstar
Marton Fucsovics vs Hugo Dellien preview
Marton Fucsovics opens his campaign at the 2020 US Open against Bolivia's Hugo Dellien.
The 28-year-old Hungarian started his season with a run to the Doha quarterfinals, before taking a set off six-time champion Roger Federer in the fourth round of the Australian Open.
After a trio of opening-round exits in Rotterdam, Marseille and Dubai, Marton Fucsovics won both his singles matches in Hungary's Davis Cup tie against Belgium. The COVID-19 outbreak struck right after that, stopping Fucsovics' momentum in its tracks.
At the Cincinnati Masters last week, the World No. 66 won two matches before going down to Filip Krajinovic of Serbia in the Round of 16. Marton Fucsovics will now look for his first win at the US Open in his fifth appearance there.
His opponent Hugo Dellien started his season with opening-round exits at the Australian Open, Cordoba, Buenos Aires and Rio de Janeiro. He then notched up his first wins of the season at the inaugural Santiago Open, where he reached the quarterfinal.
After winning a pair of Davis Cup matches against Dominican Republic, Dellien was supposed to play his first competitive match in six months at the Cincinnati Masters last week. However, that was not to be.
When Dellien and Guido Pella's common fitness trainer tested positive for COVID-19, both players were controversially evicted from the tournament despite returning negative tests on multiple occasions. That decision was severely criticized by top players like Novak Djokovic, Andy Murray and Daniil Medvedev.
Marton Fucsovics vs Hugo Dellien head-to-head
Marton Fucsovics has never met the 97th-ranked Hugo Dellien in a competitive match on tour, so the pair's head-to-head record currently stands at 0-0.
Marton Fucsovics vs Hugo Dellien prediction
Both Marton Fucsovics and Hugo Dellien are short of experience at the Grand Slam level.
The Hungarian has won nine matches in 12 previous Major appearances, while Dellien has won twice in six. But unlike Fucsovics - who has not won a match at Flushing Meadows - Dellien followed up his maiden Grand Slam match win at Roland Garros last year with another at the US Open.
Nevertheless, it is the Hungarian player who is expected to win against his younger Bolivian opponent given his greater firepower and overall big-stage experience.
Prediction: Marton Fucsovics to win in four sets.