The ATP Tour heads to Buenos Aires for the second leg of the Latin America “Golden Swing.” The Argentina Open is a 250-level event hosting its 23rd consecutive clay-court ATP tournament. Some of the worlds best have flocked to Buenos Aires looking to reign supreme, but the story of the week is the return of young Spanish phenom Carlos Alcaraz. The 19-year-old missed the start of the season with a leg injury and will make his return to tour action against Serbian Laslo Djere. We at LWOT have the preview and prediction for that match as well as all other happenings around the grounds of Buenos Aires, but who will advance?
ATP Buenos Aires Day 3 Predictions
Roberto Carballes Baena vs Tomas Martin Etcheverry
Head-to-Head: first meeting
Clay court specialists Roberto Carballes Baena and Tomas Martin Etcheverry will meet for the first time with a spot in the Argentina Open quarterfinals on the line. Both players work hard in their round one victories and come into this match with confidence. Both players specialize in grinding their opponent down in long, drawn-out points. I expect Carballes Baena and Martin Etcheverry to play a very tight three-setter but give the advantage to the Argentine. I believe Martin Etcheverry’s forehand will prove to be the difference.
Prediction: Etcheverry in 3
Cameron Norrie vs Facundo Diaz Acosta
Head-to-Head: first meeting
No. 2 seed Cameron Norrie is looking to continue his early season clay-court success in a second-round match against young Argentine Facundo Diaz Acosta. Diaz Acosta is 4-1 on the dirt this season and defeated Federico Coria in round one of this event. It was the highest-ranked victory of his career. While I believe Norrie will take a few games to find his footing, he should have no problem moving Diaz Acosta around the court. The precession and power from the Brit will be too tough.
Prediction: Norrie in 2
Camilo Ugo Carabelli vs Dusan Lajovic
Head-to-Head: first meeting
23-year-old Argentine Camilo Ugo Carabelli has looked very solid thus far in Buenos Aires. He worked his way through qualifying before taking out Daniel Elahi Galan in straight sets. Ugo Carabelli is 9-4 on the clay this season. He matches up with Dusan Lajovic, who is coming off of an improbable come-from-behind victory over Sebastian Baez. Like Ugo Carabelli, Lajovic played his way through qualifying at this event and should be feeling very confident in his game. Lajovic proved he could deal with a pro-Argentina crowd in Round 1, and I believe he will do so again.
Prediction: Lajovic in 3
Carlos Alcaraz vs Laslo Djere
Head-to-Head: first meeting
One of the more anticipated second-round matches in recent 250 memory will close out day three in Buenos Aries as No. 1 seeded Carlos Alcaraz makes his return against Laslo Djere. Alcaraz, who missed the start of the season with a leg injury, has not played in a tour-level match in over three months. It will be intriguing to see if rust affects this result. Djere is coming off a 6-4 6-4 win over Fabio Fognini and has always been a player that favors the clay. I expect him to give the current world No. 2 everything he can handle in his first match of the year. That said, I expect Alcaraz to play well in the big moments and win this match in straight sets.
Prediction: Alcaraz in 2
Main Photo from Getty.
