The quarterfinals matches are here! It’s been an exhilarating week of ATP tennis in Buenos Aires and we are down to eight players looking to lift the trophy on Sunday. Who will win and who will fall short? I give my best guesses below!
ATP Buenos Aires Quarterfinal Predictions
Albert Ramos vs Sumit Nagal
Head to Head: 1-0 Nagal
Albert Ramos survived set points in the first set and going down a break twice in the second set to beat Dominik Koepfer 7-5, 6-4. Ramos is remarkably consistent from the baseline and gets the ball deep in the court. Sumit Nagal has continued his amazing run in Buenos Aires with a 6-4, 6-3 win over Cristian Garin. Nagal’s anticipation, foot speed, and consistency are all major factors in his success, which started in qualifying.
Nagal leads the head to 1-0, having beaten Ramos in a tight straight-sets match in the Lyon Challenger. Nagal continues to show remarkable returning prowess, winning 57% of Garin’s service points in the previous round’s match. However, Nagal will need to try to do a bit more on serve, as he only won 53% of service points against Garin. Nagal’s consistency will make things tough on the tired Ramos legs. However, Ramos is playing really good clay court tennis and I don’t see what weapons Nagal has to really hurt Ramos. It will be close, but Ramos moves on.
Prediction: Ramos in 3
Pablo Andujar vs Francisco Cerundolo
Head to Head: never played
Pablo Andujar was extremely solid from the baseline in his 6-4, 7-6(5) win over Gianluca Mager. The Spaniard’s return game was on-point, as he won 41% of return points and broke the Mager serve 4 times. Francisco Cerundolo came back from a set down to beat Benoit Paire 4-6 6-3 6-1. Cerundolo improved as the match went on and let Paire implode.
These two have never played before. Andujar did have a leg injury versus Mager, but it didn’t seem to affect him much. Andujar’s depth and rally tolerance from the baseline is just a little better than Cerundolo’s at this time in the Argentinian’s career. Cerundolo should be able to hit some winners with his heavy forehand, but Andujar will force him to overhit a little too often. Andujar advances in three sets.
Prediction: Andujar in 3
Laslo Djere vs Miomir Kecmanovic
Head to Head: 2-0 Kecmanovic
Laslo Djere played a great match to beat Federico Delbonis 7-6(1) 6-3 in the second round of Buenos Aires. Djere won 43% of return points and saved ten of the 11 break points he faced. Miomir Kecmanovic came back from a set down, and a break down in the third set, to beat Thiago Monteiro in three sets. It was Kecmanovic’s first win against a lefty in six tries.
Kecmanovic leads the head to head 2-0, but both of those matches were on hard courts, so they don’t mean much. Kecmanovic showed great mental fortitude to beat Monteiro. He served 9 aces and had 0 double faults in the match, but still was patchy from the baseline. But, I was really impressed with how Djere played yesterday. Delbonis was consistent from the baseline and hitting heavy forehands that were tough to handle, yet Djere was able to hang in there and win the match. Djere hit with great depth and controlled aggression against Delbonis and I think he takes that level with him into this one. Djere moves on.
Prediction: Djere in 3
Jaume Munar vs Diego Schwartzman
Head to Head: 2-0 Schwartzman
Jaume Munar took down Frances Tiafoe 7-6(4) 6-4 to reach the quarterfinals of Buenos Aires. It was a long, physical match and return was key for the Spaniard. Munar won 44% of his return points. Diego Schwartzman had a comfortable second round win over Lukas Klein, taking the match 6-4 6-2. Schwartazman’s return was even better than Munar’s, as the Argentinian won 56% of his return points.
Schwartzman leads the head to head 2-0, including a straight sets win in Cordoba last season. Schwartzman is just as consistent as Munar, but has a lot more power than the Spaniard. His backhand should allow him to control the baseline and Munar will be defending for much of the match. Munar won’t be able to hurt Schwartzman with his serve or baseline game and I like Schwartzman to win a straightforward match here.
Prediction: Schwartzman in 2
Main Photo from Getty.
Disagree with our ATP Buenos Aires Quarterfinal Predictions? As always, feel free to share your thoughts in the comments.
