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

Match details

Fixture: Marketa Vondrousova vs Iga Swiatek

Date: 28th September 2020

Tournament: Roland Garros 2020

Round: First Round (Round of 128)

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

Marketa Vondrousova vs Iga Swiatek preview

In a battle between two of the most promising talents on the women's side, last year's French Open runner-up Marketa Vondrousova takes on World No. 54 Iga Swiatek in the first round on Monday.

It was right here at Roland Garros that Marketa Vondrousova had her career breakthrough last year, as she made it all the way to the final. The run made the-then 19-year-old the first teenage finalist at the French Open since Ana Ivanovic in 2007, and propelled her to a career-high No. 14 ranking.

However, injuries reared their ugly head after that and robbed the Czech southpaw of a chance to build on that performance. The now 21-year-old underwent a left wrist surgery and had to wrap up her 2019 season early.

2020 has been a season of rebuilding for Vondrousova. And even though she started with a quarter-final finish at Adelaide, she couldn't do much else of note until she found her feet on clay again.

At the Italian Open last week, Marketa Vondrousova reminded everyone of her French Open heroics. She tore through the draw before losing to compatriot Karolina Pliskova in the semifinals.

2018 junior Wimbledon champion Iga Swiatek, meanwhile, has been one of the fastest-rising stars on the WTA tour for some time now. Still only 19, the Pole broke into the top 50 in February, peaking at No. 48.

Iga Swiatek

Even though she has a 7-5 win-loss record for the year, five of those wins have come in Grand Slams. That says a lot about her fearlessness and her love for playing on the big stage.

Swiatek made it to the fourth round of the Australian Open and the third round at Flushing Meadows, putting up a tremendous exhibition of her talent to beat some big names along the way.

Marketa Vondrousova vs Iga Swiatek head-to-head

Marketa Vondrousova and Iga Swiatek have never faced off on tour before, so the head-to-head currently stands at 0-0.

Marketa Vondrousova vs Iga Swiatek prediction

With her aggressive baseline hitting and lightning quick footwork, Iga Swiatek has a game suited for the faster courts. That said, she did make it to the semi-finals of the junior French Open in 2018. If she manages to find the depth on her groundstrokes, she can definitely put the Czech in a spot even on clay.

But to do it consistently against a returner as good as Marketa Vondrousova is a difficult job, to say the least. Vondrousova would look to use her lefty topspin forehand to keep Swiatek pinned behind the baseline, and finish some of the points with her clever dropshots.

The 21-year-old Czech is coming into this tournament with a lot of momentum and confidence after reaching the semi-finals at Rome. All things considered, it might be tough for the young Pole to stop the World No. 19 here.

Prediction: Marketa Vondrousova to win in two tight sets.