Both Francisco Cerundolo and Alexandre Muller are in impressive form heading into the Rio de Janeiro quarterfinals on Friday. Alexander Zverev continues his campaign as the No. 1 seed against heavy underdog Francisco Comesana.
(4) Francisco Cerundolo vs. Alexandre Muller
Cerundolo and Muller will be going head-to-head for the second time in their careers when they clash in the Rio Open quarterfinals on Friday night. Their only previous encounter came early last season on the hard courts of Auckland, where Muller rolled 6-1, 6-1. Cerundolo will like his chances better on clay even though both guys are all-court players. The 26th-ranked Argentine is in fine form at the moment, building on a Buenos Aires runner-up performance with Rio victories over Hugo Gaston and Luciano Darderi.
Unfortunately for Cerundolo, Muller is on fire in 2025. The 60th-ranked Frenchman captured his first ATP title in Hong Kong and so far this week he has ousted Brazilian teenage sensation Joao Fonseca (the Buenos Aires champion) and No. 8 seed Tomas Martin Etcheverry–both in straight sets. This will be a lot more competitive than last year’s contest, but Muller has been the best player so far in Rio de Janeiro and should continue his march into the semis.
Pick: Muller in 3
(1) Alexander Zverev vs. Francisco Comesana
Zverev is looking to bounce back from a Buenos Aires quarterfinal loss to Cerundolo, but it has not been easy in Rio de Janeiro. The top-seeded German opened with a 7-6(4), 6-4 defeat of Bu Yunchaokete after Bu served for the first set. Zverev then beat Alexander Shevchenko 7-6(1), 7-6(6) even though Shevchenko led 5-3 in the first and had two set points in the second. The world No. 2 is now 11-2 this season with a runner-up performance at the Australian Open.
Up next for Zverev is Comesana, whom he has never faced. Amazingly, Comesana has as many wins at Grand Slams as he does on the main ATP Tour (four each). The 24-year-old Argentine has already doubled his previous ATP victories count this week in Rio de Janeiro by taking out Gustavo Heide 7-6(2), 6-7(7), 6-3 and Nicolas Jarry 7-6(4), 6-7(1), 7-6(6). Even with a day off, there is almost definitely some physical fatigue for Comesana–who also has to deal with the mental test of playing in an ATP 500 quarterfinal. A more experienced and more powerful Zverev will likely be far too tough in this one.
Pick: Zverev in 2
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Cdolo in a tough 3; Zv in 2