ATP Cup 2021: Milos Raonic (Team Canada) vs. Dusan Lajovic (Team Serbia) Tennis Prediction

The 2021 ATP Cup begins on February 2nd, 2021 and first up we have some Group A action between Canada and Serbia. In the first match of the tie (#2 Singles) Milos Raonic of Canada faces Serbian Dusan Lajovic. The head to head is tied at one win apiece. Since the ties are only made up of 3 matches, each point is crucial. Which country will get off to a good start?

Milos Raonic is currently ranked #14 and has been a staple of the ATP Tour top 20 rankings for many years, peaking at a career high #3. He had a strong season in 2020, with highlights including Semi-Final runs at the Paris Masters and the Italian Open. He is part of a relatively strong Canadian team led by the exciting Denis Shapovalov, and they will have their sights set on a good performance. As always, Raonic will be depending on his huge serve and experience to get him through here and he surely will be tough to beat on these hard courts. 

Dusan Lajovic is currently ranked #26 and was a huge part of the Serbian team that won the title here in 2020. He had some huge wins during that run over the likes of Felix Auger-Aliassime and Karen Khachanov which were instrumental in their surprising victory. He will be looking to fulfil his role as sidekick to world number one Novak Djokovic as they aim to repeat. He is a very solid baseliner with powerful groundstrokes. Despite clay being his favored surface he is still a dangerous opponent as evidenced by past results. If he returns serve well he can certainly keep this match interesting but it will be a huge challenge. 

Even though Dusan Lajovic had some heroic performances here in Melbourne in 2020 I do not see him winning this match. The experienced Raonic was in great form towards the end of the year, advancing deep into the draw in his past four tournaments. He will dictate play with his big serve and groundstrokes and I expect him to win a close match here. Milos Raonic to win.