Marcelo Tomas Barrios Vera vs Cameron Norrie Prediction & Betting Tips - ATP Rio Open

Prediction published on 20/02/2024, 05:36  by Steve Ashfield | Modified on 20/02/2024 at 06:36 in Tennis Predictions

Cameron Norrie continues the defence of his Rio Open title. The second seed faces unseeded Tomas Barrios Vera for a place in the quarter finals of this clay court tournament. For the winner, there's a match against unseeded opposition, either Thiago Seyboth Wild or Jaume Munar. It's a big week for Norrie as he defends all the points won when winning this title last year. He's down to 33rd in the live rankings but can move up to 30th if winning this match. In the Live ATP Race, the British player is up to 18th position. The 28-year-old has won six of his nine matches this year with one quarter final reached in Auckland. His clay court season didn't start well with his first match in Buenos Aires being lost. It's gone better in RIo with a first round victory over Hugo Dellien, losing just five games.

Tomas Barrios Vera was ranked 120th when this tournament began. He's risen to 109th after beating wild card Gustavo Heide in round one of this tournament. That's still below his career high of 93rd but it was an important win for the Chilean. Before this week he had lost his first four matches played in this calendar year. That poor run included three losses on clay, including one on the Challenger Tour. Vera is 108th in the Live Race but was 197th before that opening round win. We tip Norrie to win this match in straight sets.