Match details
Fixture: (10) Milos Raonic vs Aljaz Bedene
Tournament: Rolex Paris Masters 2020
Round: Round of 64 (First round)
Venue: Paris, France
Category: ATP Masters 1000
Surface: Indoor hardcourt
Prize money: €3,901,015
Live telecast: USA – ESPN / Tennis Channel | India – Sony Six / Sony Liv
Milos Raonic vs Aljaz Bedene preview
10th seed Milos Raonic will cross swords with Slovenia’s Aljaz Bedene in the first round of the Paris Masters 2020.
Raonic seems to have rediscovered some of his lost touch this season. The Canadian returned to the second week of a Grand Slam by reaching the Australian Open quarterfinals, and later also reached his fourth Masters 1000 final at the Western & Southern Open. Incidentally, World No. 1 Novak Djokovic defeated him in both those tournaments.
Raonic’s serve has been right on the money this year, and it goes without saying that the unseeded Aljaz Bedene will find it extremely tough to tackle that shot under the roof in Paris.
Interestingly, Milos Raonic had faced Bedene in the first round of the European Open in Antwerp a couple of weeks ago, where the Canadian prevailed in straight sets.
However, Raonic subsequently had to withdraw from his quarterfinal match against Grigor Dimitrov because of an abdominal strain. That brought him level with Boris Becker’s embarrassing record of 11 walkover defeats.
Raonic had to skip the Vienna Open due to the same reason.
Bedene has also had his share of injury issues over the last one month. First, he retired against Stefanos Tsitsipas when the Greek was leading 6-1, 6-2, 3-1 in the third round of Roland Garros. Then last week in Vienna, Bedene called time on his first-round match against Dan Evans after picking up a right thigh injury in the second set.
It goes without saying that fitness will be an area of concern for both Raonic and Bedene in their upcoming battle.
Milos Raonic vs Aljaz Bedene head-to-head
Milos Raonic leads Aljaz Bedene 4-0 in the head-to-head record. The World No. 17 player emerged victorious in his meetings with Bedene at Istanbul (2017), Brisbane (2019), London (2019) and Antwerp (2020).
Milos Raonic vs Aljaz Bedene prediction
Looking at his stellar performances since the tour resumption, Milos Raonic starts as the overwhelming favorite to beat Aljaz Bedene in Paris. The head-to-head record and the playing conditions in the French capital heavily favor him too.
Unless he has another injury issue, the 10th seeded Raonic can be expected to breeze past his 31-year-old opponent in the opening round.
Prediction: Milos Raonic to win in straight sets.
Published 01 Nov 2020, 16:50 IST
