Argentina Open 2024 Day 5: Men's singles predictions ft. Nicolas Jarry vs Tomas Martin Etcheverry
Players will fight for a place in the semifinals on Day 5 of the 2024 Argentina Open.
Only half of the eight seeded players made it through to the quarterfinals. Eighth seed Arthur Fils fell at the very first hurdle. Second seed and last year's runner-up Cameron Norrie was sent home by Federico Coria in the second round.
Fourth seed Francisco Cerundolo also stumbled in the second round as he lost to Facundo Diaz Acosta. Defending champion Carlos Alcaraz is still in the mix, along with the remaining seeded players, Nicolas Jarry, Sebastian Baez and Tomas Martin Etcheverry.
Here's a look at the predictions for most of the matches set to take place on Day 5 of the Argentina Open:
#1 - Nicolas Jarry vs Tomas Martin Etcheverry
Jarry received a bye into the second round of the Argentina Open, where he was up against Stan Wawrinka. The Chilean staged a comeback to oust the three-time Major champion as he won 6-7 (3), 6-2, 7-6 (5).
Etcheverry began the South American Golden Swing at last week's Cordoba Open, where he bowed out in the quarterfinals. He has now made the last eight at the Argentina Open as well.
Etcheverry defeated Roberto Carballes Baena 6-4, 6-1 and followed it up with a 6-3, 6-0 win over Daniel Elahi Galan to reach this stage. The Argentine lost his prior meeting against Jarry, which was in the final of last year's Chile Open.
Etcheverry did score a win over him before that at the 2022 Cordoba Open. Both players are quite at home on clay and their previous duels have gone the distance as well. However, the Argentine has won convincingly both of his matches here.
The home crowd could also give Etcheverry the necessary boost to get over the finish line. This could be another long-drawn affair between the two, with the Argentine having a slight edge in this match-up.
Predicted winner: Tomas Martin Etcheverry
#2 - Dusan Lajovic vs Facundo Diaz Acosta
Diaz Acosta has had his breakthrough moment since last week. He reached his maiden quarterfinal at the ATP level at last week's Cordoba Open. He defeated Federico Agustin Gomez and Thiago Agustin Tirante, after which Sebastian Beaz put an end to his campaign.
Diaz Acosta continued his good run of form to make the quarterfinals of the Argentina Open too. He bested Daniel Altmaier 6-3, 7-6 (1) in his opener and followed it up with a 7-6 (3), 6-0 win over fourth seed Francisco Cerundolo.
Lajovic snapped his three-match losing streak with a 6-3, 6-4 win over eighth seed Arthur Fils in the first round here. He defeated Alejandro Tabilo 6-3, 1-6, 6-1 in the next round to advance to the last eight.
Lajovic will be the favorite given his experience over Diaz Acosta. However, the former is quite vulnerable at the quarterfinal stage. Since the start of 2020, he has been in 11 quarterfinals but managed to progress to the next round just twice.
Nevertheless, Lajovic plays some of his best tennis on clay and he loves to compete in South America. The Serb will be vary of a rising Diaz Acosta but should be able to get the job done to make it through this clash.
Predicted winner: Dusan Lajovic
#3 - Sebastian Baez vs Federico Coria
Coria made a good start to the clay swing as he reached the semifinals of the Cordoba Open. He knocked out Daniel Altmaier, Albert Ramos-Vinolas, and Etcheverry but came up short against Facundo Bagnis.
Coria was made to work for both of his victories at the Argentina Open so far. A three-set win over Sebastian Ofner put him into the second round, where he was up against second seed Cameron Norrie.
Coria scored one of the biggest wins of his career as he managed to defeat Norrie 6-2, 4-6, 6-3. Beaz was shown the door by Luciano Darderi in the Cordoba Open semifinals last week. He avenged the defeat by besting the Italian 6-4, 7-5 in the second round of the Argentina Open.
Baez and Coria are evenly matched in their rivalry so far. The former came out on top in last year's Cordoba Open final and the latter edged past him in the first round of the Swedish Open later that year.
Both are in good form at the moment and are proficient claycourters. However, Baez's past track record does tip the scales in his favor and he has a better shot at making it to the next round.
Predicted winner: Sebastian Baez