Day two will see the majority of the opening round of matches completed at the ATP Rio Open. As always, we here at LWOT will be offering our predictions for every match on the slate in Rio de Janeiro, including Lorenzo Sonego vs Laslo Djere. But who will advance to the second round?
ATP Rio Day 2 Predictions
Daniel Elahi Galan vs Federico Delbonis
Head-to-head: Delbonis 1-0 Galan
Daniel Elahi Galan is having a good time on the South American clay in 2022. The Colombian won the Challenger in Concepcion before qualifying in Cordoba and going on to reach the quarterfinals. The only problem for Galan is that Federico Delbonis did well in Buenos Aires and the Argentine has achieved much more than Galan over the course of his career so far. This has the makings of a very tight match, but although Galan is probably the underdog on paper, expect him to get the win here. For one thing, he has actually won a higher percentage of points on clay than Delbonis over the last couple of years.
Prediction: Galan in 3
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Facundo Bagnis vs Fabio Fognini
Head-to-head: first meeting
Whilst Fabio Fognini is not in great form at the moment he finds himself up against an opponent who is perhaps in worse shape than him in Facundo Bagnis. The Argentine hasn’t won a match for some time now, suffering four consecutive losses since beating Andy Murray at an ATP 250 in Melbourne, and this might just be the perfect opportunity for Fognini to return to winning ways as a result. The mercurial Italian has his fluent game to thank for his excellent career, but it hasn’t clicked often of late. Still, the move to clay at this stage of the season could well help the former Monte Carlo Masters champion find some more timing. If it does he should have too much firepower by half for Bagnis.
Prediction: Fognini in 2
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Sebastian Baez vs Thiago Monteiro
Head-to-head: Baez 2-0 Monteiro
There is rarely a more one-sided and relevant head to head than this one. Both matches were recent, coming in the closing stages of last season, were played in South America and on clay. Both were won in straight sets by Sebastian Baez, 6-4 6-0 in the final at the Buenos Aires Challenger and 6-1 6-4 in the final in Campinas. Being left-handed hasn’t Monteiro in this rivalry, which is unsurprising as Baez’s record against left-handed opponents is superb. Baez possibly isn’t playing quite as well as he was in late 2021, when he made his NextGen Finals appearance, but it’s impossible to ignore the one-sided nature of their previous meetings.
Prediction: Baez in 2
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Francisco Cerundolo vs Benoit Paire
Head-to-head: Cerundolo 1-0 Paire
The Argentine is defending quite a few ranking points during the Golden Swing so will want to come out on top here. Benoit Paire, meanwhile, does seems to make the trip over from Europe for the Golden Swing quite regularly, but it’s not entirely clear whether the Frenchman comes just for the tennis. Perhaps Paire likes the sunny South American beaches at this time of year. Their previous meeting was on last year’s Golden Swing in Buenos Aires, Cerundolo won that one in three and a similar result looks likely this year too. The Argentine will have more patience and perseverance than Paire and eventually that should be enough to secure his spot in the last 16.
Prediction: Cerundolo in 3
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