Top seed Novak Djokovic is set to take on Slovenia’s Aljaz Bedene in the third round of the Roland Garros
Defending champion, Novak Djokovic will be chasing a record 21st Grand Slam in Paris. In the first round, he defeated Japan’s Yoshihito Nishioka 6-3, 6-1, 6-0 and followed it up with another straight-sets win against Slovenia’s Alex Molcan.
Novak Djokovic boosted his preparations for the French Open by winning his first title of the year at the Italian Open in Rome last week. The World No.1 will be one of the favourites as he chases a record-equalling 21st Grand Slam at the French Open. The Serbian has had a dismal 2022 so far and the win at the Italian Open definitely acts as a great confidence booster for him going into the second Grand Slam of the year.
Djokovic is happy to be back in winning ways. The Serbian is confident of putting up a strong title challenge in the Roland Garros. “I could not ask for a better lead-up to Roland Garros. I’m going to Paris with confidence and good feelings about my chances there”, said Djokovic after his win in Rome.
Aljaz Bedene’s form coming into the tournament
World No.195 Aljaz Bedene registered impressive victories in his previous two matches. In the first round, he defeated Australia’s Christopher O’Connell 6-2, 6-4, 6-7, 6-1 and then got the better of Pablo Cuevas in the next round.
The Slovenian hasn’t had an overwhelming year so far. His best performance in 2022 came at the Serbia Open, where he reached the Round of 16 before losing to Fabio Fognini.
Bedene certainly faces an uphill task against the defending champion and current World No.1, Djokovic.
Details:
| Date | Friday, 27th May |
| Court type | Outdoor clay court |
| Watch | Sony Network and Sony LIV |
| Start time | To be announced |
| Venue | Stade Roland Garros |
| Match details | Third round match |
Head to head and Predictions
Djokovic and Bedene have faced each other three times before on the ATP tour. On all three occasions, the Serbian won in straight sets and leads 3-0 on head to head. Their last meeting came at the 2017 Rome Masters which Djokovic won 7-6, 6-2.
On paper, the World No.1 is the outright favourite both in terms of form and rankings. We are predicting a comfortable straight sets victory for Novak Djokovic.
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