Thiago Monteiro vs Sebastian Baez Prediction & Betting Tips - ATP Rio Open

Prediction published on 23/02/2024, 04:30  by Steve Ashfield | Modified on 23/02/2024 at 05:31 in Tennis Predictions

Two players yet to drop a set in the clay court Rio Open face each other in the quarter finals. Fifth seed Sebastian Baez takes on wild card Thiago Monteiro for a place in the semi-finals. The winner will be up against either fourth seed Francisco Cerundolo or unseeded Dusan Lajovic, Baez was 30th in the rankings at the start of this tournament. He's up to 28th in the live rankings and reaching the last four can take him up to 25th. and that'd equal his career high. The 23-year-old is seeking to continue his good form on clay this year. He's won seven of his nine matches and this is his third quarter final of 2024. His best performance was reaching the last four in Cordoba. So far in Rio, he's had straight sets wins over Corentin Moutet and recent tournament winner Facundo Acosta Diaz. He leads Monteiro 3-1 in previous meetings, all played on clay. 

The only win for Monteiro over Baez was in this tournament two years ago. At that time Baez was only a qualifier rather than a seeded player. Monteiro wouldn't have been expecting to get this far in Rio. He drew top seed Carlos Alcaraz in round one but won the match after his opponent retired after just two games. The Brazilian then beat qualifier Felipe Meligene Alves in straight sets. He's up to 102nd in the live rankings but that's still 41 places below his career high. A win here could take him as high as 86th depending on other results. His best results this year came in a Challenger Tour clay court event when he got to the last eight. We tip Baez to get the win here.