Rio de Janeiro R2 previews and picks: Ferrer vs. Ramos-Vinolas, Thiem vs. Schwartzman

Dominic Thiem will look to extend his hot streak when he contests a second-round match against Diego Schwartzman on Wednesday in Rio de Janeiro. David Ferrer and Albert Ramos-Vinolas are also aiming for a place in the quarters.

Albert Ramos-Vinolas vs. (2) David Ferrer

Ferrer and Ramos-Vinolas will be going head-to-head for the sixth time in their careers when they collide in the second round of the Rio Open on Wednesday. All five of their previous encounters have gone the way of Ferrer, who is 3-0 at his fellow Spaniard’s expense on clay. The 33-year-old is 10-2 in total sets against Ramos-Vinolas, although the underdog at least managed to make their most recent showdown somewhat competitive (Ferrer won 1-6, 6-3, 6-4 in the Vienna first round last fall).

A stroke of bad luck–in the form of a rain delay–forced Ferrer to play two matches in one day last week in Buenos Aires. The world No. 6 beat Pablo Cuevas in three sets but bowed out to Nicolas Almagro in the semifinals. He got back on track with a 6-3, 7-6(3) victory over Nicolas Jarry on Tuesday. Ramos-Vinolas benefited from what was mostly a free pass courtesy of Dusan Lajovic, who retired while leading 4-3 in the first set. The world No. 47 recently advanced to the Quito semis before losing in round one of the Argentina Open to Pablo Cuevas. Nothing suggests Ramos-Vinolas is poised to turn the tide against his heavily-favored countryman.

Pick: Ferrer in 2 losing 8 games or fewer

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(5) Dominic Thiem vs. Diego Schwartzman

Fresh off an epic run to the Buenos Aires title, which included consecutive third-set tiebreaker victories over Rafael Nadal and Almagro last weekend, Thiem got right back in gear by defeating Pablo Andujar 6-3, 6-4 on Tuesday in Rio de Janeiro. The 19th-ranked Austrian is now 21-1 in his last 22 clay-court matches at either the 250 or 500-point levels. All four of his ATP titles have come on outdoor clay.

Looking to halt Thiem’s hot streak and pull off what would be a considerable upset on paper, Schwartzman is 0-1 lifetime in the head-to-head series. Their only previous encounter came last season on the hard courts of Miami, where Thiem got the job done 7-6(0), 7-5. The 90th-ranked Argentine is an even 2-2 at the ATP level for the 2016 campaign following a 6-3, 6-2 rout of Brazilian wild card Joao Souza in round one. This could get especially interesting if Schwartzman takes one of the first two sets to exacerbate Thiem’s fatigue, but the fifth seed is sky-high on confidence and should be able to seal the deal in straights.

Pick: Thiem in 2

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