The ATP Rio Open is the biggest tennis tournament in Brazil and has had great champions in the past. World No.2, Alexander Zverev is the top seed this year. Day 1 features #3 seed, Alejandro Tabilo and two-time semifinalist, Nicolas Jarry. As always, we at LWOT will offer our predictions for every match on the slate. But which players will advance to the second round?
ATP Rio Day 1 Predictions
Francisco Comesana vs Gustavo Heide
Head-to-Head: first meeting
Francisco Comesana has won multiple Challengers on clay and it’s probably his favourite surface but he has yet to win a tour-level match on this surface. However, the sample size is small and he has a good opportunity to open his account against Gustavo Heide, who is even less experienced at this level. Heide is a wild card, playing at the Rio Open main draw for the second time. The Brazilian will like his chances and the crowd support should help him too but Comesana has more variety in his game.
Prediction: Comesana in 3
Nicolas Jarry vs Juan Manuel Cerundolo
Head-to-Head: first meeting
Nicolas Jarry is off to a decent start this season and is playing at a good level. However, he suffered a bad loss last week against Diego Schwartzman, who was playing his last tournament and was nowhere near his best. Jarry will look to bounce back after that defeat and the Rio Open has been a happy hunting ground for the Chilean. Juan Manuel Cerundolo won a tour-level match last week after a long time and did well in the qualifying rounds, but he doesn’t have enough firepower to trouble Jarry.
Prediction: Jarry in 2
Alejandro Tabilo vs Chun-Hsin Tseng
Head-to-Head: first meeting
Alejandro Tabilo has been successful on every surface in his career but clay remains his best. Although, he hasn’t made any inroads in his two appearances at the Rio Open and maybe the slowness of the courts doesn’t help his game. However, he should be able to win against Chun-Hsin Tseng, who won both his qualifying matches in three sets and has only one tour-level win on clay.
Prediction: Tabilo in 2
Main Photo Credit: Jonathan Hui-USA TODAY Sports
