Rio de Janeiro SF previews and predictions: Cuevas vs. Auger-Aliassime, Bedene vs. Djere

A surprising Rio de Janeiro tournament will continue with an all-unseeded semifinal slate on Saturday. Pablo Cuevas is going up against Felix Auger-Aliassime, while Aljaz Bedene tries to keep his run going at the expense of Laslo Djere.

Pablo Cuevas vs. (WC) Felix Auger-Aliassime

Cuevas and Auger-Aliassime will be going head-to-head for the first time in their careers and a second showdown is already on the upcoming schedule as they head into this Rio Open semifinal clash on Saturday. That’s right; a few days following this encounter, they will also square off in next week’s Sao Paulo first round. As for this one, it definitely was not expected when Auger-Aliassime drew No. 2 seed Fabio Fognini in his Rio opener. But the 18-year-old Canadian rolled to a 6-2, 6-3 upset and went to knock off Christian Garin and Jaume Munar also in straight sets.

Once a member of the top 20, the 33-year-old Cuevas almost plunged out of the top 100 (94th) due to recent injuries, but he appears to be back in business. The 63rd-ranked Uruguayan reached the quarterfinals last week in Buenos Aires and so far in Rio he has ousted Diego Schwartzman, Juan Ignacio Londero, and Albert Ramos-Vinolas. Cuevas endured a tough one against Ramos-Vinolas and Auger-Aliassime has been cruising…which is why this one will be competitive. But Cuevas’ experience, veteran guile, and general clay-court mastery will ultimately make the difference.

Pick: Cuevas in 3

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Laslo Djere vs. Aljaz Bedene

An even more unexpected semifinal pits Bedene against Djere for the fourth time in their careers (third time at the ATP level). Bedene is sweeping the head-to-head series 3-0, with a pair of clay-court victories–at the 2013 Banja Luka Challenger and at the 2017 Budapest event via a 6-2, 6-4 semifinal decision. They just recently faced each other last fall on the indoor hard courts of Moscow, where Djere was much more competitive but still went down 5-7, 6-4, 7-6(2).

Djere could not have figured to last long in Rio when he drew top-seeded Dominic Thiem in the opening round, but the 23-year-old Serb took advantage of a less-than-100 percent opponent and prevailed 6-3, 6-3. He went on to defeat Taro Daniel and Casper Ruud, while Bedene has advanced by beating Marco Cecchinato, Thiago Monteiro, and Hugo Dellien. Based on both their head-to-head history and Bedene’s experience, the 83rd-ranked Slovenian should have an edge on Saturday.

Pick: Bedene in 2

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