Hamburg Open 2020: Karen Khachanov vs Dusan Lajovic preview, head-to-head & prediction

Match details

Fixture: Karen Khachanov vs Dusan Lajovic

Date: 24 September 2020

Tournament: Hamburg European Open 2020

Round: Second round (Round of 16)

Venue: Hamburg, Germany

Category: ATP 500

Surface: Red clay

Prize money: €1,062,520

Match timing: Not before 12.30 pm CEST, 4 pm IS

Live telecast: USA - ESPN / Tennis Channel | India - Sony Six | Russia - Eurosport | Serbia - IKO Sportklub

Karen Khachanov vs Dusan Lajovic preview

Karen Khachanov survived in his opening round match of the 2020 Hamburg Open by the skin of his teeth. Down 3-0 in the decider, the Russian staged an impressive comeback against home favorite Jan Lennard Struff to win 7-6, 4-6, 7-5.

He will now face Dusan Lajovic in the second round at Hamburg. The Serb had a much easier time in his opening match, overcoming Adrian Mannarino in straight sets.

Dusan Lajovic

Karen Khachanov began his claycourt swing on the wrong note in Rome. The World No. 16 lost his opener to Casper Ruud, and seemed set to meet the same fate against Struff in Hamburg before he upped his game towards the end.

The Russian has been in poor form since 2019. The six-month pandemic-induced hiatus was expected to be a blessing for Khachanov, as many believed it would have given him time to regroup and come back stronger. However, that has not been the case.

Khachanov did display glimpses of his talent at the Cincinnati Masters, where he beat Pablo Carreno Busta. But he has gone back to his inconsistent self following that encounter.

Dusan Lajovic on the other hand has shown considerable improvement since the clay swing has begun. Widely known as a claycourt expert, Lajovic did not disappoint as he defeated Alejandro Davidovich Fokina and Milos Raonic in Rome.

The World No. 24 seems to have carried over his form to Hamburg, as evidenced by his dominant win over Mannarino. Lajovic produced a terrific all-round display to get the better of the Frenchman, who has a considerable amount of experience on the red dirt.

Karen Khachanov vs Dusan Lajovic head-to-head

Dusan Lajovic leads by 3-0 in the H2H

Dusan Lajovic leads Karen Khachanov 3-0 in head-to-head match-ups. That includes two contests on clay - in Kitzbuhel and Madrid.

Khachanov, in fact, is yet to win a set against Lajovic.

Karen Khachanov vs Dusan Lajovic prediction

Dusan Lajovic has enough weapons in his armory to make things extremely tough for Karen Khachanov, especially on clay. That said, if Khachanov can find his big-hitting abilities from the baseline, he could turn this into a match.

Karen Khachanov

Both players have the ability to cause problems with their serve. But what could tilt the tie in favor of Lajovic is his superior returning ability on clay. Armed with a good amount of variety on both wings, the Serb has the potential to wear down Khachanov by mixing up his spins and moving the Russian around the court.

The Russian's error-prone forehand and relatively inferior returning could be a significant factor in this match. And if he concedes as big a lead to Lajovic as he did against Struff, he is unlikely to stage another comeback.

Prediction: Dusan Lajovic to win in three sets.