Joao Fonseca vs Mariano Navone Prediction & Betting Tips - ATP Rio Open

Prediction published on 23/02/2024, 04:39  by Steve Ashfield | Modified on 23/02/2024 at 06:51 in Tennis Predictions

It's been a big week for Mariano Navone in the clay court Rio Open. The qualifier has made it to the last eight and faces wild card Joao Fonseca for a place in the semi-finals. Whoever wins this match will take on either defending champion Cameron Norrie or unseeded Thiago Seyboth Wild. Navone was ranked 113th in the latest world rankings list and that was a career high for the Argentinian. His run to the last eight in Rio has seen him rise to 87th and could get to 75th if reaching the last four. Navone had to win two qualifying matches to get into this main draw, doing so wiithout having a set taken off him. He'd not won a main draw match this year before defeating Federico Coria in round one after losing the first set 6-1. Round two saw him beat Yannick Hanfmann for the loss of just three games.

Joao Fonseca has also been climbing the rankings this week. He was ranked 655th at the start of this ATP 250 tournament but is now up to 342nd and that's compared to his previous career high of 636th. He could get as high as 239th if beating Navone so it's been a massive week for the Brazilian wild card. The 17-year-old  has had two good wins in this tournament with victories over seventh seed Arthur Fils (losing just four games) and a straight sets win over Cristian Garin. Last year saw him win the junior title at the US Open and he has a bright future ahead of him. His only previous match against Navone saw him win in three sets two years ago. We tip him to get another win here.