The remainder of the second round matchups will take place on day four of the Argentina Open in Buenos Aires. The second seeded Diego Schwartzman begins his title defence on day four with a familiar matchup against Spain’s Jaume Munar, an opponent he has never lost to. Will the Argentinian number one make a strong start in Buenos Aires?
ATP Buenos Aires Day 4 Predictions
Fabio Fognini vs Pedro Martinez
H2H: First meeting.
Fabio Fognini begins his Golden Swing campaign with a tough matchup against Pedro Martinez. The Spaniard is seemingly better prepared for this clash given his solid start to the season and having already won a couple of matches on clay over the last few weeks. Fognini is more than capable in this matchup when he’s near his best, however that is unlikely to be the case on this occasion. Expect Martinez to be too solid for a rusty Fognini.
Prediction: Martinez in 3
Federico Delbonis vs Pablo Andujar
H2H: Andujar 7-2
Federico Delbonis played the role of the villain when he easily defeated Juan Martin De Potro 6-1 6-3 in what was the 2009 US Open champion’s final match of his career. Delbonis now faces an opponent he has a terrible record against. Andujar won the first six meetings between the pair and also their most recent match, a 6-2 7-6 win in St. Petersburg last year. There are signs of hope for Delbonis in this matchup though as he did win the last two matches between the pair on a clay court.
There’s very little to separate these two at the moment. Whoever plays better on the day will win. I’ll give the slight edge to the Spaniard because of the head-to-head situation and because of his overall more solid and reliable style of play. Andujar looked rock-solid in a dominant opening round win over Juan Ignacio Londero, a similar effort probably gets the job done here.
Prediction: Andujar in 3
Miomir Kecmanovic vs. Francisco Cerundolo
H2H: First meeting.
Miomir Kecmanovic has made a promising start to the season. The Serb reached the round of 16 for the first time at a major at the Australian Open last month and carried some of that form into his Buenos Aires opener when he defeated the sixth seeded Laslo Djere 6-4 1-6 6-1. On current form Kecmanovic should be solid enough to beat Cerundolo, even if the conditions are favourable for the Argentine. Kecmanovic has more experience at this level and is full of confidence right now.
Prediction: Kecmanovic in 3
Diego Schwartzman vs. Jaume Munar
H2H: Schwartzman 3-0
Diego Schwartzman hasn’t started 2022 as he would have liked. A shocking second round loss to Christopher O’Connell at the Australian Open was followed by a straight set loss to Alejandro Tabilo at the semifinal stage in Cordoba last week. It’s fair to say Schwartzman hasn’t shown his best level very often this year. That shouldn’t be an issue for Schwartzman in this matchup.
Schwartzman has won all three of the previous matches between the pair. Schwartzman won 6-2 7-5 in Buenos Aires last year in their most recent meeting. This is a bad matchup for Munar. The Spaniard is a lesser version of Schwartzman, he doesn’t have the weapons to consistently hurt the Argentine. Expect another straight set win for Schwartzman in this matchup.
Prediction: Schwartzman in 2
Main Photo:
