As the tennis action shifts to the “Golden Swing,” the ATP Cordoba Open will be of significant interest in the next seven days as some of the top players in the world compete in the first of four clay-court tournaments in South America.
We preview the other four matches and pick who will advance into the second round. We also have predictions for the other four matches on Tuesday.
ATP Cordoba Open Day 2 Predictions
Roberto Carballes Baena vs Pedro Martinez
Head-to-head: First meeting
These two players are meeting for the first time in main draw action at tour-level, but they have played four times at Challenger level and qualifiers. Carballes Baena who is the more experienced of the pair has dominated their match ups, dropping just one set across all four meetings.
Pedro Martinez won his first tour-level match at the recently-concluded Australian Open to get his 2020 campaign off to the best possible start, but can he keep his countryman at bay in Cordoba?
Highly unlikely. Carballes Baena beat the 22-year-old quite handsomely in their last meeting in the Lisbon Challenger, and despite getting accustomed to the Cordoba courts by playing two qualifiers, Martinez will likely fall short again.
Prediction: Carballes Baena in 3
Andrej Martin v Federico Coria
Head-to-head: First meeting
Andrej Martin was in tremendous form on the Challenger Tour in 2019. The Slovak collected three titles and finished runner-up in the other two finals, and remarkably all of those came on clay. He will arrive in Cordoba with some form, after reaching the semifinals at the Punta Del Este Challenger in Uruguay last week.
Martin though will likely face some strong opposition from the local hopeful Federico Coria who beat him in a Challenger event in Ecuador last year. With how finely balanced this encounter is, it could come down to who sustains their composure when it goes the distance, and I am backing the Argentinean to have an edge in that department.
Prediction: Coria in 3
Hugo Dellien vs Pedro Cachin
Head-to-head: First meeting
Hugo Dellien attained a career-high ranking of World No.72 last month and is slowly becoming one of the most prominent athletes of his generation in Bolivia. However, his start to 2020 has been a shocker, going down 6-0 6-1 to Michael Mmoh of the United States in Auckland. Dellien then had to deal with widespread attention in his home country of his match against Nadal at the Australian Open, with Bolivian fans treating the match like a World Cup final.
Although the writing was on the wall in Melbourne, the 26-year-old could not envisage the steady climb he has made in such a short space of time to earn his place among the best 128 players competing in a Grand Slam match. Dellien had quit tennis in 2016 before deciding to come back to the sport and is now a regular fixture at tour-level matches.
He will want to get his campaign up and running when he plays the wildcard Pedro Cachin of Argentina. Cachin hails from Cordoba and had previously beaten Dellien in the Futures over five years ago, but expect the rejuvenated Bolivian to level the scores here.
Prediction: Dellien in 2
Jaume Munar vs Leonardo Mayer
Head-to-head: Munar 1-0 Mayer
The last of the day’s action will see the graduate from the Rafael Nadal Academy, Jaume Munar, looking to make serious inroads on the main tour in 2020. The talented 22-year-old won his fourth Challenger title towards the end of the 2019 in Montevideo and finished the year inside the Top 100. Leonardo Mayer is an accomplished player on clay and there is probably greater incentive for him to perform in his home country, but I can’t see him piercing the holes in Munar’s defense.
Prediction: Munar in 2
Main Photo from Getty.
