John Isner of the USA, the number 21 seed, will play French wildcard Elliot Benchetrit, the world 215, in the first round of the 2020 French Open on Sunday, September 27. The match will begin sometime around 1 pm local time local time (12 noon BST or 7 am Eastern Time). Get the live streaming options of this John Isner v Elliot Benchetrit match along with its preview, head to head, and tips here.
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John Isner v Elliot Benchetrit Head to Head
The pair have never met before. This will be the first meeting between the 35-yer old American and his French opponent, who is 14 years younger.
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Isner’s Game Not Quite Suited to Paris
With his powerful serve and forehand, and preference for short, dynamic points, Isner’s game is not really suited to Paris and the long rallies, and that is borne out by his record here, which is worse than the other three majors. The best he has managed is three third round appearances, the most recent of which was two years ago.
He has won an ATP event in clay, but that was back in Houston in 2013. A year earlier he reached the final there, and also of a clay court tournament in Belgrade in 2010.
Isner comes into this event off a disappointing result in the US Open, where he lost in the first round to compatriot Steve Johnson in five sets, having previously reached the third round of the Cincinnati Open. Prior to lockdown his best result in 2020 was a semi-final in Acapulco in February.
The American chose not to play in any warm-up events on clay prior to this tournament which could have a bearing on how this match goes.
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Benchetrit, a French Wildcard
Benchetrit became best known in tennis circles for an incident earlier this year in qualifying for the Australian Open. When he asked a ball girl to peel a banana for him the match umpire told him to peel it himself and scolded him for asking her to do that. That prompted a wider debate on social media about the role of ball boys and girls.
Other than that, Benchetrit’s greatest achievement on the senior tour was making the second round here last year, the only time he has won a Grand Slam match.
However, he has had some success on the junior ITF circuit, reaching four clay court finals and winning three of them.
He has also been in four doubles’ finals, the most recent of which was last month in Todi, Italy, However, he and his partner and compatriot Hugo Gaston lost on that occasion.
Isner v Benchetrit Prediction and Tip
Isner may not be at home on clay, but he should have too much experience and power for the wildcard who has no real experience at this level. Think Benchetrit could win a set though.
Tip: Benchetrit to win a set: 8/13 (bet365)
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The French Open 2020 will be played from September 27 to October 11. You can watch & bet on the French Open here. Get your latest premium tennis predictions here.
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