Jiri Vesely vs. Karen Khachanov – French Open, September 30, 2020

The second round of the 2020 French Open starts on Wednesday and it has been a weird tournament so far. The cold weather, the new balls, and the lack of huge crowds have made it different than any edition of the Roland-Garros I can remember.

Many top seeds are now gone and I have the feeling the surprises have just started. One of the matches that should be one-sided on paper is the clash between Jiri Vesely and Karen Khachanov.

Both men are tall and strong, but the Russian is far more talented and will be hoping for a deep run in the 2020 French Open.

I share my thoughts on his next encounter in this Jiri Vesely vs. Karen Khachanov betting preview. The post includes the latest odds and lines, my prediction, and a free betting pick.

The Jiri Vesely vs. Karen Khachanov odds of the top French Open betting sites show that the Russian is a major favorite in this clash and the big question is if Jiri Vesely can win a set or not. That’s what I’m going to try and find out in my analysis below.

We saw the best of Jiri Vesely in 2017 and 2018 when he had some good runs in Wimbledon and was a constant presence on the ATP Tour. He still hangs around, but his form has dropped a bit in the past two years.

Vesely has struggled to find wins in his early matches after the return of tennis, losing in the opening encounters in both the Prague Challenger and the US Open.

The Czech found some form in the German Open, though, and was able to win his French Open 2020 first round clash against Liam Broady. He stayed aggressive for most of the match and his serve was strong.

I don’t think that Vesely can perform on the same level against Khachanov, though, as the Russian will certainly put him under severe pressure. That’s not the favorite surface for the underdog either, so I don’t think we can expect too much from him.

You would normally expect strong performances on grass from a player with Khachanov’s physique, but the Russian’s best Grand Slam runs happened on clay. He was eliminated in the fourth round of the French Open twice in 2017 and 2018, before reaching the quarterfinals in 2019.

Khachanov loves playing in Paris and he certainly will be hoping for another strong year. His aggressive style and good strokes from the baseline make him dangerous for most players and we saw that clearly in the first round of the 2020 Roland-Garros.

He had a somewhat slow start in the first set against Kamil Majchrzak, before closing the next two with ease. Khachanov should be able to cope with Vesely too in their first match ever.

Both men have a strong serve that works to their advantage, but Khachanov’s arsenal includes better baseline moves. That’s why I expect a rather comfortable victory for him and the price of -103 for the Russian to cover the -5.5 handicap against Vesely makes a lot of sense.