Cordoba 2023 Day 5: Men's singles predictions ft. Joao Sousa vs Albert Ramos-Vinolas, Federico Coria vs Francisco Cerundolo
The fifth day of the 2023 Cordoba Open - the first tournament of this year's Latin American swing - will feature all four quarterfinals.
On the fourth day, three seeded players went through to the next round, while top seed Diego Schwartzman crashed out. The six Round of 16 winners were Juan Manuel Cerundolo, second seed Francisco Cerundolo, third seed Albert Ramos-Vinolas, sixth seed Federico Coria, qualifier Hugo Dellien and the unseeded Joao Sousa.
JM Cerundolo dumped out Schwartzman, while his brother Francisco saw off qualifier Federico Delbonis. Ramos-Vinolas took out Dusan Lajovic, while Coria beat Marco Cecchinato. In other matches, Dellien beat wildcard Guido Pella, while Sousa took care of Cristian Garin.
A day earlier, fourth seed Sebastian Baez and wildcard Tomas Barrios Vera booked their places in the last eight, seeing off qualifier Luciano Darderi and eighth seed Bernabe Zapata Miralles respectively.
With all eight men remaining in the draw set to take to the court on Friday, an enticing day of action awaits in Cordoba. On that note, here's a look at the predictions for all four quarterfinals:
#1 Joao Sousa vs Albert Ramos-Vinolas (2022 Cordoba winner)
Joao Sousa will look to continue his winning ways in Cordoba when he locks horns with third seed Albert Ramos-Vinolas for a place in the last four.
Having arrived in the Argentinian city with a 0-4 record on the season, the 162nd-ranked Sousa got his first win in 2023 against Tomas Martin Etcheverry this week. The World No. 162 followed that up by dumping out Cristian Garin to reach the quarterfinals.
Meanwhile, World No. 54 Ramos-Vinolas also arrived in Cordoba on a four-match losing streak in 2023. However, the 35-year-old left-hander got off the mark with a three-set win over Dusan Lajovic to get his campaign up and running.
The defending champion has won five of his seven meetings with Sousa and should prevail again.
Prediction: Ramos-Vinolas in three sets
#2 Federico Coria vs Francisco Cerundolo
Federico Coria will look to extend his winning streak in Cordoba to three matches when he takes on second seed Francisco Cerundolo on Friday.
The World No. 67 arrived at the tournament on a 0-4 start to the ATP season but has racked up consecutive wins, seeing off Thiago Monteiro and Marco Cecchinato. Having won the Concepcion Challenger in Chile last week, the 30-year-old Argentinian has now won his last seven matches across tours.
Meanwhile, the 31st-ranked Cerundolo has made a decent start to the season, making the Australian Open third round and winning his Davis Cup match against Finland. The 24-year-old opened his Cordoba campaign by downing compatriot Federico Delbonis in straight sets.
Firing shots! 💪
@FranCerundolo fights back to defeat Delbonis 6-3 3-6 7-5 and advance in Cordoba!
@CordobaOpen | #CordobaOpen https://t.co/L8u7ivjBKb
Cerundolo has won only one of three previous meetings with Coria - all on clay - but looks set to even his head-to-head record in the all-Argentine matchup.
Prediction: Cerundolo in three sets
#3 Sebastian Baez vs Tomas Barrios Vera
Fourth seed Sebastian Baez will take on wildcard Tomas Barrios Vera on Friday for a place in the Cordoba last four.
Another player who arrived in the Argentinian city with a winless (0-3) record on the season, the 47th-ranked Baez beat Luciano Darderi in straight sets to get off the mark. The 22-year-old had lost in the opening round in Pune, Auckland and the Australian Open last month.
Meanwhile, the 212th-ranked Barrios Vera brought up only the third ATP Tour win of his career when he opened his Cordoba campaign with a win against Daniel Elahi Galan. The 25-year-old Chilean then took down eighth seed Zapata Miralles to reach the last eight.
The two South Americans have not met on the ATP Tour before, but Baez has beaten Barrios Vera in three previous meetings in the Challenger and Futures circuits. That should continue on Friday as Baez looks to win consecutive matches for the first time this year.
Prediction: Baez in straight sets
#4 Juan Manuel Cerundolo vs Hugo Dellien
Wildcard Juan Manuel Cerundolo will complete the Cordoba quarterfinals lineup when he takes on Bolivian Hugo Dellien.
Juan Manuel is the younger brother of Francisco Cerundolo, who has also reached the last eight in the Argentinian city. Juan Manuel, ranked 114th in the world, opened his account for the season by beating Pablo Andujar in the opening round. The 21-year-old then took it up a notch, upsetting his compatriot and top seed Diego Schwartzman to reach the last eight, making it a memorable night for the Cerundolo brothers.
A good night for the Cerundolo brothers!
@juanmacerundolo defeats Diego Schwartzman 7-6 6-1 to advance at the #CordobaOpen 🙌
@CordobaOpen
https://t.co/YHr2775uok
Meanwhile, the 138th-ranked Dellien also arrived in Cordoba without a win this season. However, he emerged from qualifying to beat sixth seed Pedro Cachin in the first round before downing home hope Guido Pella to reach the last eight.
Cerundolo and Dellien have never met before, but the latter's superior experience on tour should see him take the win.
Prediction: Dellien in three sets