Gael Monfils survived a wild one against Horacio Zeballos on Tuesday in Rio de Janeiro and he will be back in action on Wednesday to face top seed Marin Cilic in the second round. Fellow Argentines Diego Schwartzman and Federico Delbonis are also aiming for a place in the quarterfinals.
(1) Marin Cilic vs. Gael Monfils
Cilic and Monfils will be going head-to-head for just the third time in their careers when they battle for a spot in the quarterfinals of the Rio Open on Wednesday. Monfils has won both of their previous encounters; 3-6, 6-4, 6-4 at the 2009 Paris Masters and 6-7(6), 6-3, 6-4 at the 2016 Rio Olympics. Not quite as much is at stake at this 500-point tournament, where both players are making a rare appearance on the Golden Swing. Monfils has already been busy, with a second-round showing in Quito followed by a semifinal finish in Buenos Aires (lost to eventual champion Dominic Thiem). The world No. 39, who kicked off his season with a title in Doha, is 10-3 in 2018 following a 7-5, 3-6, 7-5 victory over Horacio Zeballos on Tuesday–when he recovered from a 5-2 deficit in the third set.
This is Cilic’s first February tournament, and therefore his first since finishing runner-up to Roger Federer at the Australian Open. The third-ranked Croat improved to 9-2 for the year when he cruised past qualifier Carlos Berlocq 6-3, 6-2 on Monday. Although Monfils may be somewhat fatigued, he looked extremely motivated during his comeback against Zeballos and will be eager to build on his momentum from that result. Clay also favors the Frenchman–even though Cilic is certainly no slouch on this surface.
Pick: Monfils in 3
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Federico Delbonis vs. (6) Diego Schwartzman
It will be an all-Argentine affair when Schwartzman and Delbonis do battle for the fifth time in their careers at the ATP level. The head-to-head series is all tied up at two wins apiece, and all four of their previous encounters have come on clay. They have faced each other at this same Rio de Janeiro event twice in the past three seasons, with Delbonis advancing via third-set retirement in 2015 before Schwartzman prevailed 6-4, 7-6(1) last year–also during second-round action.
Speaking of retirements, that is the fashion in which both men got through their openers on Tuesday. Schwartzman played just five games (leading 4-1) before Casper Ruud called it quits, while Delbonis led Jiri Vesely 6-2, 3-2 when the Czech pulled the plug. Ranked 23rd in the world, Schwartzman has not been quite as on fire as he was in 2017 but he at least managed to reach round four of the Australian Open prior to a quarterfinal performance last week in Buenos Aires. He is simply in a different class than Delbonis–and certainly more match-tough–at the moment.
Pick: Schwartzman in 2
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WYG?
Schwartzman and Cilic in three
Schwartzman and Monfils in three
(More confident about the first one )
Cilic in 2. Diego looking like he’ll finish it in 2 as well.
Speaking of Delbonis, is there anyone with a more annoying service motion? Hard to think of how he developed it.