Day four at the Rio Open will see the conclusion of the round of 16, with the four remaining places in the quarterfinals on the line. There should be no shortage of entertaining tennis for the fans in Brazil with both of the top two seeds in action. But who will book their place in the last eight?
Rio Open Day Four Predictions
Joao Domingues vs Gianluca Mager
Head-to-head: Domingues 1-1 Mager
Gianluca Mager scored what was surely one of the best wins of his career to oust eighth seed and Argentina Open champion Casper Ruud in the first round. The Italian, ranked 128th in the world, has won three Challenger titles so far in his career, but has enjoyed little success on the main tour, something he could be in good position to change at the Rio Open. But standing between him and a place in the quarterfinals is the Portuguese Joao Domingues.
Domingues beat his countryman and Buenos Aires runner-up Pedro Sousa in the first round, perhaps taking advantage of his opponent’s fatigue. Like Mager, he has established himself at Challenger-level, winning two titles, but has yet to manage to step up to the highest-level. Both will surely be desperate to win this match as a result, with a cagey affair likely to be in the offing. But Mager has the advantage in experience and is playing the better tennis at the moment. Expect him to progress.
Prediction: Mager in 3
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Lorenzo Sonego vs Dusan Lajovic
Head-to-head: Lajovic 1-0 Sonego
Neither man found the going entirely straightforward in the first round, with both Dusan Lajovic and Lorenzo Sonego coming through tough three-setters. But Lajovic will surely be pleased with the manner in which he finished his 6-4 6-7 6-1 win over former-French Open semifinalist Marco Cecchinato, whilst Sonego impressed in beating Leonardo Mayer, 6-1 4-6 7-5. He enjoyed a breakout 2019, winning his first ATP title on the grass in Antalya and after losing his first five matches of this season, will surely be glad to have picked up a win.
But his task will not be easy against the hard-hitting Lajovic, who last year reached his first Masters 1000 final in Monte Carlo, beating Daniil Medvedev in the semifinals. He was also part of the victorious Serbian ATP Cup team earlier this season, recording some vital wins in Sydney. When he is timing the ball as well as he did in the third set against Cecchinato, he can be a hard man to stop and he should prove just too strong for Sonego at the Rio Open.
Prediction: Lajovic in 3
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Borna Coric vs Thiago Seyboth Wild
Head-to-head: first meeting
Thiago Seyboth Wild’s three-set win over Alejandro Davidovich Fokina, which lasted just 11 minutes shy of four hours, was unquestionably one of the matches of the season so far, even if it was not always played in the most sporting spirit. Seyboth Wild will surely be grateful for his day off, for he may well need all of his energy and guile if he is to find a way past the fifth-seeded Borna Coric and into the quarterfinals at the Rio Open.
Coric arrived in Rio a man in need of wins and he took a step in the right direction by beating Juan Ignacio Londero, who last year won the Cordoba Open and reached the fourth round at Roland Garros, in the first round in two tight sets. He will be looking to maintain the level of consistency that took him to victory in that match when he takes on Seyboth Wild. If he is able to do so, expect him to secure his place in the last eight, particularly as the Brazilian young gun seems unlikely to be at his freshest physically.
Prediction: Coric in 2
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Dominic Thiem vs Jaume Munar
Head-to-head: Thiem 2-0 Munar
In what is surely the match of the day at the Rio Open, top seed Dominic Thiem will take on the Spaniard Jaume Munar. Thiem, who is playing his first tournament since reaching the Australian Open final in January, was not at his best in the first round, where he appeared to be troubled by a knee problem, but he dug out a three-set win against world #341 Felipe Meligeni Rodrigues Alves to keep his title hopes alive. And difficult though that match was, it may well have sharpened his instincts.
Jaume Munar, meanwhile, does not want for talent, but has struggled to fulfil his potential so far and currently finds himself ranked 99th in the world, down 47 places from his career-high. However, he has been making steady progress during the Golden Swing and scored a creditable straight-sets win over Salvatore Caruso in the first round. But whether he will be able to withstand the power of Thiem is another matter entirely. The Austrian has beaten Munar in both of their previous meetings and should be able to make it a hat-trick of victories in Rio, in two tight sets.
Prediction: Thiem in 2
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