Roland Garros: Grigor Dimitrov vs Andrej Martin preview, head-to-head & prediction | French Open 2020

Match details

Fixture: Grigor Dimitrov vs Andrej Martin

Date: 1 October 2020

Tournament: Roland Garros 2020

Round: Second round (Round of 64)

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

Grigor Dimitrov vs Andrej Martin preview

18th seed Grigor Dimitrov did well to get past Gregoire Barrere, a potentially tricky opponent who had upset him in Lyon earlier this year, in the first round. The win was particularly important for Dimitrov because he is still looking for a big run at the French Open, the only Slam where he hasn't yet made the second week.

The Bulgarian will be looking at this year as a big opportunity to do just that. He has landed in a rather open section of the draw and should be fancying his chances against his next opponent, Slovakia's Andrej Martin.

Andrej Martin scored his biggest result at a slam in Paris, reaching the third round in 2016.

Martin, 31, is a bit of late bloomer on the tour, having entered the top 100 of the world rankings at the start of this season. Luckily for him, this late surge has come off the back of solid performances on claycourt tournaments in both the ATP and Challenger circuits.

Martin managed to make his first tour semifinal just this year. He also took seasoned players like Cristian Garin to marathon three-setters - all while playing on the red dirt.

Even his best Grand Slam performance came at the 2016 French Open, where he reached the third round as a lucky loser. All those factors combined would give Dimitrov something to think about.

Grigor Dimitrov vs Andrej Martin head-to-head

Dimitrov will be looking to improve his serving numbers ahead of the bigger matches

The two men have never played each other on tour before, so their current head-to-head stands at 0-0. But Dimitrov, clearly the more experienced of the two, will be the big favorite going into the match on Thursday.

Grigior Dimitrov vs Andrej Martin prediction

Grigor Dimitrov would not have been completely happy with his first round performance, as he made a few too many unforced errors and dropped serve a couple of times during the match. He will be looking to clean up his act before a potential big match against Denis Shapovalov.

Against Martin, the Bulgarian will have a good opportunity to test his serve and groundstrokes. Dimitrov would not want to take this match too lightly given his opponent's level of comfort on the surface.

If Martin can find his footing early, he might have a shot at capturing a set or two against an opponent who is yet to find his best tennis in the tournament. But if Dimitrov starts to connect with his shots, things could get really tough for the Slovak.

Prediction: Grigor Dimitrov to win in four sets.

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