Rio de Janeiro R1 previews and predictions: Thiem vs. Lajovic, Monfils vs. Zeballos

With just one full day of rest, Buenos Aires champion Dominic Thiem will be back in action when goes up against Dusan Lajovic in the Rio de Janeiro first round on Tuesday. The Day 2 schedule also features Gael Monfils, who is facing Horacio Zeballos.

Dusan Lajovic vs. (2) Dominic Thiem

As usual, Thiem is looking like a force on clay in 2018–perhaps unbeatable for anyone except Rafael Nadal. The sixth-ranked Austrian is 6-0 on the slow stuff and coming off a title this past week in Buenos Aires, where he did not surrender a single set the entire way. Arguably the only concern is that Thiem will have enjoyed just one full day of rest when he takes the court against Lajovic at the Rio Open on Tuesday.

This marks the fourth career encounter between the two competitors and second in a row at this Rio tournament. Thiem improved to 3-0 lifetime in the head-to-head series with a 6-2, 7-5 victory during second-round action last season. The 24-year-old is a perfect 6-0 in total sets against his upcoming opponent and all three of their previous meetings have come on clay. Lajovic is just 1-3 for his 2018 campaign and lost in the Buenos Aires second round, beating Facundo Bagnis before falling to Gael Monfils 6-4, 6-3. There is no reason to think the 84th-ranked Serb will suddenly turn the tide against an in-form Thiem–and certainly not on this surface.

Pick: Thiem in 2

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Gael Monfils vs. Horacio Zeballos

Monfils and Zeballos will be going head-to-head for the first time in their careers on Tuesday. This is already the third stop on the Golden Swing for both players, which is especially surprising in Monfils’ case–but he decided to play on clay throughout February this year instead of showing up on the indoor hard courts of Europe. The 39th-ranked Frenchman’s month is off a to a decent start, with a second-round performance in Quito and a semifinal showing in Buenos Aires (lost to Thiem). Monfils is 9-3 overall in 2018 with a title in Doha.

Zeballos is 2-4 overall this season and 1-2 on clay, with losses to the exact same opponents as Monfils (Thiago Monteiro in Quito and Thiem in Buenos Aires). The 32-year-old Argentine has not done much of anything since reaching the fourth round of the French Open last spring. An upset is possible if Monfils fails to be motivated but with 500 points available to enhance his relatively low ranking, he should be at least somewhat inspired.

Pick: Monfils in 2

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