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Match details
Fixture: Borna Coric vs Pablo Andujar
Date: 31 August 2020
Tournament: US Open 2020
Round: First Round (Round of 128)
Venue: Flushing Meadows, New York, USA
Category: Grand Slam
Surface: Outdoor hardcourt
Prize money: $39,024,000
Match timing: 11 AM EDT, 8:30 PM IST
Live telecast: USA - Tennis Channel / ESPN | India - Star Sports / Hotstar
Borna Coric vs Pablo Andujar preview
27th seed Borna Coric opens his campaign at the 2020 US Open against Spain's Pablo Andujar.
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The 23-year-old Croat commenced his season with a win at the inaugural ATP Cup but lost four matches on the trot before getting back on the winning trail with a run to the Buenos Aires semifinals (lost to Cristian Garin). That turned out to be his last competitive outing of the season before the COVID-19 outbreak.
Coric participated in the ill-fated Adria Tour during the pandemic lockdown and was one of several players who contracted the dreaded virus. But in his first competitive outing in six months at the Cincinnati Masters, Borna Coric beat Benoit Paire in his tournament opener - before falling to David Goffin in the second round.
Coric's first-round opponent at this year's US Open, Pablo Andujar, opened his season with a trio of opening-round exits - Doha, Auckland and Australian Open. The 34-year-old then picked up a pair of wins in Cordoba and Rio de Janeiro during the Latin American clay-court swing, before he lost to compatriot Rafael Nadal in the first round at Acapulco.
Borna Coric vs Pablo Andujar head-to-head
Borna Coric and Pablo Andujar have never met on the tour before, so their head-to-head currently stands at 0-0.
Borna Coric vs Pablo Andujar prediction
Borna Coric has a modest 7-5 match-win record at the US Open. In his last appearance at Flushing Meadows, the World No. 33 won his opener against Evgeny Donskoy before withdrawing from the tournament owing to an injury.
In 2018, Borna Coric had made a run to the second week at the US Open before going down to eventual finalist Juan Martin Del Potro in the fourth round.
Pablo Andujar on the other hand made his US Open debut in 2008, but his best campaign at the tournament only came last year - when he made the Round of 16 (lost to Gael Monfils).
Despite his impressive run at the US Open in 2019, Andujar's poor form on hard court this year - he is winless in four matches - means that Borna Coric will start as the favorite on Monday.
This is just the second best-of-five set match for Borna Coric this year; he lost in the Australian Open first round to Sam Querrey. Nevertheless, the Croat is unlikely to be severely tested by the 53rd-ranked Andujar, who has yet to win on the surface this year.
Prediction: Borna Coric to win in four sets.
