It’s quarterfinal day at the 2022 Cordoba Open. Only three seeds remain in the draw, and two of them will go head-to-head when Lorenzo Sonego faces Albert Ramos-Vinolas in the first match of the day. The top seeded Diego Schwartzman looms as the player to beat this week. Standing between Schwartzman and a semifinal spot is Daniel Elahi Galan. Will the Argentine #1 have any difficulties progressing to the final four?
ATP Cordoba Open Quarterfinal Predictions
Lorenzo Sonego vs Albert Ramos-Vinolas
H2H: Ramos-Vinolas 1-0
Lorenzo Sonego made a scrappy start to his Cordoba campaign but managed to pull it together in time to record a 4-6 7-6 6-2 win against Roberto Carballes Baena. Sonego’s game is well suited to the clay as he has more time on the ball to unleash his thunderous groundstrokes.
Albert Ramos-Vinolas has reached at least the quarterfinal stage in two events during the Golden Swing in each of the last three seasons. The 34-year-old is on track to continue that trend after another strong start in Cordova. The Spaniard is through to his third consecutive quarterfinal in Cordoba as he attempts to go one step better than his runner-up finish last year. Ramos-Vinolas was relatively untroubled in a 6-4 6-3 opening round win over Andrej Martin before benefiting from the retirement of Juan Pablo Varillas as he led 6-4 2-3.
Ramos-Vinolas defeated Sonego 7-6 6-3 in Rio de Janeiro in 2018 in their only previous tour level meeting. Sonego is extremely talented, his best is more than capable of beating the Spaniard. However, the persistence and discipline of Ramos-Vinolas is an annoying matchup for Sonego in these conditions. Ramos-Vinolas is relentless, he knows how to get the job done in these matches. The Italian is likely to lose his focus at some stage and Ramos-Vinolas will take advantage.
Prediction: Ramos-Vinolas in 3
Juan Ignacio Londero vs Nikola Milojevic
H2H: Londero 1-0.
Juan Ignacio Londero secured a pair of upset victories in straight sets to advance to the final eight. A 6-3 6-4 win over Yannick Hanfmann and a 6-3 7-6 win against the eighth seeded Pedro Martinez. Playing at home in Argentina seems to bring out the best in Ignacio Londero. The Argentine is through to his first tour level quarterfinal since he reached the semifinals in Buenos Aires in 2020. Ignacio Londero won the inaugural edition of the Cordoba Open in 2019 and has now reached the quarterfinals of the event on three occasions. It seems the 28-year-old is a different playing in Argentina compared to the relatively poorly preforming player in any other country.
Nikola Milojevic made the most of his extremely lucky break this week In Cordoba. The Serb was eliminated in the final stage of qualifying but received Dominic Thiem’s spot in the main draw as a lucky loser when the Austrian withdrew due to injury. Milojevic received a bye through the first round before beating Argentine Tomas Martin Etcheverry 6-3 7-6 to advance to his first ATP tour level quarterfinal.
Londero won 6-4 6-3 during Roland Garros qualifying in 2018 in the only previous meeting between the pair.
Expect Londero to continue his Cordoba love affair on Friday. The Argentine is far more experienced at this stage of an ATP tour level event. This will be Milojevic’s first tour level quarterfinal and he will have a hostile crowd to deal with. Those factors aside, Londero is the better player and seems have found his game this week.
Prediction: Ignacio Londero in 2
Sebastian Baez vs Alejandro Tabilo
H2H: Baez 1-0
An interesting matchup between two players on the rise. Alejandro Tabilo has breezed through the draw this week with four straight set wins. An impressive 6-2 6-4 win over Carlos Taberner secured the Chilean’s spot in the quarterfinals.
Sebastian Baez progressed to a maiden ATP tour level quarterfinal thanks to a 4-6 6-1 6-1 win over the third seeded Cristian Garin. The last couple of sets were a drastic improvement from the Argentine, especially compared to his inconsistent level in an unconvincing 7-6 7-5 opening round win over Fernando Verdasco. It seems the 21-year-old is ready to make his mark on the ATP tour after capturing an impressive six challenger titles in 2021.
Baez beat Tabilo 6-1 6-0 in Buenos Aires last year. Expect a much closer match on this occasion but ultimately the same result. Baez is a class above, one step ahead of Tabilo in their progression. Baez is likely to win the baseline battle in the slower late night conditions.
Prediction: Baez in 2
Diego Schwartzman vs Daniel Elahi Galan
H2H: First meeting.
Diego Schwartzman was totally untroubled in his opening round match in Cordoba. The top seed received a bye through the first round before smashing qualifier Juan Pablo Ficovich 6-3 6-2 in just 65 minutes. Schwartzman is undoubtedly the highest quality player in the draw and the favourite to win the title. However, that has been the case in the past and the Argentine is yet to win the title in Cordoba.
Daniel Galan is certainly making the most of his spot in the main draw this week as a lucky-loser. The Colombian has made a strong start to the South American clay court swing having won the Concepcion challenger event in Chile a few weeks ago. Galan was narrowly beaten by Nicolas Jarry in the final round of qualifying in Cordoba before being granted a lucky-loser spot. The 25-year-old has beaten a pair of competent clay court specialists in the main draw, a 7-5 6-3 win over Hugo Dellien, followed by a 6-2 3-6 6-1 victory against Jaume Munar.
Expect Schwartzman to be far too solid in this matchup. Schwartzman is a class above. Galan has a nice serve and an aggressive game, but Schwartzman’s strong return and defensive skills will negate those strengths. Galan won’t have the weapons to consistently hit through Schwartzman and he won’t have the stamina to outlast Schwartzman from the back of the court. These are the matchup’s Schwartzman loves, especially in these conditions.
Prediction: Schwartzman in 2
Main Photo from Getty.
