Roland Garros: Sofia Kenin vs Ana Bogdan preview, head-to-head & prediction | French Open 2020

Match details

Fixture: (4) Sofia Kenin vs Ana Bogdan

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

Sofia Kenin vs Ana Bogdan preview

Fourth seed Sofia Kenin takes on World No. 93 Ana Bogdan on Thursday in her quest for a place in the third round of the 2020 French Open.

The Australian Open champion has failed to match the highs of her early season heroics since the resumption of the tour. Kenin hasn't reached a quarterfinal in the three tournaments she has played over the last two months. She also suffered a 0-6, 0-6 drubbing at the hands of Victoria Azarenka in her only claycourt warm-up event - the Italian Open in Rome - before arriving in Paris.

The scars of that humiliating defeat as well as her rustiness were very much evident in her first-round encounter against World No. 125 Liudmila Samsonova on Tuesday. The American looked in danger of crashing out when she fell behind a break early in the third set.

Kenin managed to regroup in time, eventually running out a 6-4, 3-6, 6-3 victory. But she made 34 unforced errors against just 26 winners in the match, and has some serious introspection to do before facing former World No. 59 Ana Bogdan.

Ana Bogdan

This is just the seventh tournament that Bogdan has played this season, but she did make it to the quarterfinals in Prague last month. A foot injury then forced the Romanian to retire from that match against Kristyna Pliskova.

Bogdan has, however, managed to recover well from that injury, as evidenced by her 6-4, 6-2 win over Timea Babos in the first round at Roland Garros.

Sofia Kenin vs Ana Bogdan head-to-head

Ana Bogdan leads Sofia Kenin 1-0 in their head-to-head rivalry so far. Their solitary encounter took place on the hardcourts of Montreal in 2018, where the Romanian dug deep to eke out a 4-6, 6-2, 6-4 win.

Sofia Kenin vs Ana Bogdan prediction

With both women having the ability to strike the ball hard, this promises to be an evenly-matched encounter. Despite being the lower-ranked player in the contest, Bogdan would fancy her chances as Kenin has not been at her best thus far.

Bogdan does have the experience of beating Kenin before, but it needs to be noted that their previous clash happened at a time when the 21-year-old was still coming through the ranks. Kenin has matured a lot since then, with her gritty first-round win against Samsonova bearing testimony to that.

The American should be expected to come through this match as well, but it is unlikely to be a straightforward affair.

Prediction: Sofia Kenin to win in three sets.

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