Simon Dalton presents his prediction for the ATP Roland Garros match.
Both players currently sit outside the ATP Top 100, but there's a clear gap in terms of professional tenure. Dusan Lajovic brings more than a decade of tour-level experience and has previously broken into the Top 20 in the world rankings. That pedigree makes the Serbian the favourite over Alexander Shevchenko.
Alexander Shevchenko
The 24-year-old from Kazakhstan is still early in his career. His total number of career matches is under 500, compared to over 1,100 for Dusan Lajovic. Even so, their 2025 season records are close: Shevchenko has posted 5 wins and 11 losses, while Lajovic stands at 4–10. Currently ranked 103rd, Shevchenko has mostly fallen in the early stages of tournaments. One exception came in Rio de Janeiro, where he pushed world number two Alexander Zverev to two tiebreaks in a tightly contested second-round loss on clay.
Dusan Lajovic
As for Dusan Lajovic, who is ranked 125th, his most notable result this year came in Buenos Aires, also on clay, where he defeated world No. 50 Roberto Bautista Agut in straight sets (7:6, 7:5). He then faced Alexander Zverev, losing a competitive match (4:6, 4:6). Dusan Lajovic’s current ranking reflects both a dip in form and his advancing age—he is nearing 35.
Alexander Shevchenko vs Dusan Lajovic Prediction
This will be the first-ever meeting between the two, which complicates head-to-head analysis. Recent performances in Rome provide some insight: Dusan Lajovic had a stronger showing, beating higher-ranked opponents before being eliminated by eventual champion Carlos Alcaraz. Meanwhile, Alexander Shevchenko was eliminated by 93rd-ranked Jesper de Jong. Given the disparity in experience, Dusan Lajovic is expected to prevail by at least a modest margin in games.
