World number two Rafael Nadal takes on Serbia’s Dusan Lajovic in the third round of the 2020 Italian Open on Friday, September 18 and the match will start at around 7 pm local time (6 pm BST). Get the live streaming options of this Rafael Nadal v Dusan Lajovic match along with its preview, head to head, and tips here.
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Rafael Nadal v Dusan Lajovic Head to Head
These two have met twice before this and Nadal has won both times, and in straight sets. The first time they played was at the French Open of 2014 where Nadal dropped just four games to win that fourth round encounter. Lajovic did only slightly better in their second meeting at the 2017 Australian Open when he pushed the first set to a tie-breaker but lost 7-6, 6-2, 6-2 anyway.
Also Read:
Nadal Starts off Like He Was Never Away
200 days after having played his last match, Raafel Nadal was back taking part in the Rome Masters and it never looked like he was away. Unlike most other male and female tennis stars, Nadal hadn’t participated in any of the exhibition competitions so there was always that chance he would start off with a bit of rustiness.
More so because he was playing against a US Open semifinalist brimming with confidence.
Except there was no rustiness for Nadal and no confidence for Pablo Carreno-Busta. In a matter of 73 minutes, Nadal delivered a crushing defeat to his fellow Spaniard, winning 6-1, 6-1 to march into the third round.
And while Nadal admitted he missed having the crowds watching him, it did not seem like it had affected any part of his game.
Interestingly, the only time the Spaniard looked like he was in trouble was in the very first game when he faced a break-point but once he had saved it, Nadal went on a rampage. And it’s this very rampage which one can expect from him when he takes on his Serbian opponent.
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Lajovic Stuns Raonic
After taking the first round match easily against Alejandro Fokina, Dusan Lajovic went into the second round knowing Milos Raonic had a solid pedigree but a few vulnerabilities on clay which could be exploited.
That said, Lajovic was the second favourite in the match by some distance, rank outsider at 11/5 odds to win the match. And win he did, thwarting Raonic in the first set tie-breaker and then again when he tried to make a comeback by winning the second set. Lajovic came back stronger in the third to wrap it up 6-2.
Lajovic would be a relieved man, having struggled for form in the lead-up to the Rome Masters. He was a first round ouster at Cincinnati Open, US Open and then again on the clay court of Kitzbuhel where he lost to Yannick Hanfmann.
And while it could get super difficult for the Serb against arguably the best clay court player in the world, Lajovic would at least have some iota of confidence going into the match as compared to the start of this tournament.
Nadal v Lajovic Prediction and Tip
Not too stunning to note Nadal starts off 1/40 to win this and 1/8 to do that in straight sets. No value there. Better value with how Lajovic goes with his serve for starters.
Tip: Dusan Lajovic to NOT win first service game on 0 or 15: 2/9 (bet365)
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The Italian Open 2020 will be played from September 14 to September 20. You can watch & bet on the Italian Open here. Get your latest premium tennis predictions here.
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