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Day 3 of the Rio Open will have the players fighting it out for a spot in the quarterfinals.
World No. 2 Carlos Alcaraz's time at the Rio Open came to an unfortunate end. He rolled his ankle just minutes into his first-round match against Thiago Monteiro. The young Spaniard was unable to continue after that and was forced to retire. He had even injured himself when contesting the final here last year.
Nicolas Jarry, the runner-up at last week's Argentina Open, was stunned by Yannick Hanfmann in the first round here. Alongside the German, Cristian Garin, Sebastian Baez, and Facundo Diaz Acosta were some of the other winners of the day.
With the second round set to begin on Wednesday, here's a look at the predictions for some of the key singles matches lined up for the day:
#1 - Cameron Norrie vs Tomas Barrios Vera
Norrie bowed out of the Argentina Open without winning a match as he was upset by Federico Coria 6-2, 4-6, 6-3. He commenced his title defense at the Rio Open with a 6-3, 6-2 win over Hugo Dellien and notched up his first win on the red dirt this year.
Barrios Vera defeated Gustavo Heide 7-5, 6-3 in the first round here to register his very first win of the year. He had previously lost all his qualifying and main draw matches at the ATP and the Challenger level this season.
This should be a relatively straightforward win for Norrie, given Barrios Vera has just a handful of wins at the ATP level throughout his career so far. It's hard to see the Brit dropping the ball in this match.
Predicted winner: Cameron Norrie
#2 - Francisco Cerundolo vs Albert Ramos-Vinolas
Cerundolo downed qualifier Francisco Comesana 6-1, 1-6, 6-2 to win his opening round match at the Rio Open. It marked just his third win of the season and the first of the clay swing. He previously exited from the Cordoba Open and the Argentina Open without a win under his belt.
Ramos-Vinolas overcame a one-set deficit to beat Juan Pablo Varillas 3-6, 6-3, 7-5 in his first match at the Rio Open. It was his second win of the year, with his sole win before this coming over Pedro Cachin at the Cordoba Open.
Both haven't been at their best this season and have more losses than wins to their names. Ramos-Vinolas is on the cusp of dropping out of the top 100, so this is a must-win match for him. However, the Spaniard's form has taken a dip over the past few months.
As for Cerundolo, his rough patch is more of a recent phenomenon. Ramos-Vinolas is a capable claycourter and can't be counted out, but it's going to be an uphill battle for him to outplay the young Argentine.
Predicted winner: Francisco Cerundolo
#3 - Thiago Seyboth Wild vs Jaume Munar
Wild was on the brink of yet another defeat but fought back to defeat Alejandro Tabilo 2-6, 6-4, 6-4 in the first round of the Rio Open. He snapped his nine-match losing streak with the victory and scored his first win since September 2023.
Munar started the clay swing with a quarterfinal finish at the Cordoba Open. He failed to make it past the qualifying rounds of the Argentina Open after that. He has now bounced back with a convincing 6-3, 6-1 win over Sebastian Ofner in the first round here.
Wild will have the support from the home crowd which could inspire him to raise his level and possibly win consecutive matches for the first time since last year's French Open. However, given their form, Munar seems like a safe bet to make it to the next round.
Predicted winner: Jaume Munar
#4 - Laslo Djere vs Dusan Lajovic
Djere scored an easy 6-3, 6-1 win over Bernabe Zapata Miralles to kick off his run at the Rio Open. Lajovic, meanwhile, fought back from a set down to beat Daniel Elahi Galan 4-6, 7-6 (8), 6-1 in the first round.
Lajovic even saved a match point in the second set tie-break. His results have been better than Djere's so far, who has won just a couple of matches this year. Additionally, he hasn't stringed together back-to-back victories since his semifinal run at the Stockholm Open in October.
Djere is a former Rio Open champion and is a pretty nifty player on clay, while Lajovic himself is quite adept on the surface. They have faced off four times before this and always on the red dirt.
They both have two wins over each other, though Lajovic won their most recent encounter. Their last match coincidentally took place in the second round of the Rio Open as well. Given their form, history is likely to repeat itself.
Predicted winner: Dusan Lajovic
