Roland Garros: Iga Swiatek vs Eugenie Bouchard preview, head-to-head & prediction | French Open 2020

Match details

Fixture: Iga Swiatek vs Eugenie Bouchard

Date: 02 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: 11 am CEST, 2.30 pm IST

Live telecast: USA - NBC / Tennis Channel | India - Star Sports / Disney+ Hotstar VIP

Iga Swiatek vs Eugenie Bouchard preview

2014 semi-finalist Eugenie Bouchard faces the in-form World No. 54 Iga Swiatek in a third-round clash at the French Open 2020 on Friday.

Since her breakthrough 2014 season, where she lost in the Roland Garros semifinals to eventual champion Maria Sharapova, Eugenie Bouchard has been a pale shadow of her best self. The erstwhile World No. 5 hasn't managed to replicate those heroics, having failed to make it past the second round in any of her subsequent Paris trips.

With her ranking suffering a massive slide, the Canaidna has seen a period of never-ending struggle in recent times. However, Bouchard seems to have found some of her confidence back this year, and is moving in the right direction.

After a couple of quarterfinal finishes at Auckland and Prague, the resurgent Bouchard well and truly started delivering once again in Istanbul. Starting from the qualifying rounds, she won six matches in a row before losing in the final.

The Roland Garros wildcard has been able to carry that momentum into the claycourt Major, advancing to the third round for the first time in six years.

Eugenie Bouchard comes back to get the win over Daria Gavrilova 57 64 63. Into 3R at a Slam for the 1st time since 2017 AO and 1st time at RG since she made the semifinals in 2014. Faces Iga Swiatek, who defeated Hsieh Su-Wei 61 64. #RG20 pic.twitter.com/FCtTZMTNVD

— WTA Insider (@WTA_insider) September 30, 2020

Iga Swiatek

2018 Wimbledon junior champion Iga Swiatek, on the other hand, has been one of the fastest-rising stars over the past one year.

What has been particularly fascinating is how the 19-year-old Pole has refused to show any nerves on the big stage. Since 2019, the Warsaw-born Swiatek has made it to the fourth round of the French Open and the Australian Open, as well as the third round of the US Open.

At Roland Garros this year, she displayed maturity beyond her years in dispatching last year's runner-up Marketa Vondrousova for the loss of just three games. Swiatek then relentlessly attacked Su-Wei Hsieh's second serve in the second round to notch up a 6-1, 6-4 win, and is now one win away from equaling her career-best show at Roland Garros.

🐣➡️🐥After 10 years it was kind of special to me. Thank you Su-Wei for these memories. 🐣➡️🐥#3rd #rolandgarros #grownup pic.twitter.com/IKbtdLwpI2

— Iga Świątek (@iga_swiatek) September 30, 2020

Iga Swiatek vs Eugenie Bouchard head-to-head

This will be the first meeting between Iga Swiatek and Eugenie Bouchard, so their head-to-head record currently stands at 0-0.

Iga Swiatek vs Eugenie Bouchard prediction

Iga Swiatek has so far been able to make good use of the cold conditions in Paris. In two matches she has struck a whopping 47 winners, which gives ample evidence of her big-hitting skills.

Swiatek has been able to navigate every match on her own terms, and has managed to keep most rallies short. The confident Pole is a heavy favorite against the World No. 168 Eugenie Bouchard, whose consistency remains questionable.

That said, the Canadian did show flashes of her brilliance and resilience in Istanbul, and has done the same at Roland Garros so far. That all but confirms one thing - she won't go down without a fight.

Prediction: Iga Swiatek to win in two tight sets.