The ATP’s Sao Paulo-based tournament now flows into the second round and so do our tennis picks. Monday’s results included mostly straight sets results as Diego Sebastian Schwartzman, Inigo Cervantes, Facundo Bagnis, Gastao Elias, Pablo Carreno, Dusan Lajovic, Santiago Giraldo and Thiago Monteiro all won in the minimal amount of sets. Monteiro’s result was particularly surprising as he took care of Nicolas Almagro, a player many people thought would go deeper into the tournament.
Last week, the fans in Rio De Janeiro witnessed a couple of upsets on the men’s side before Pablo Cuevas won the title. Cuevas takes the court in the second round of this tournament. Will he be knocked off? Let’s have a closer look at our tennis picks for Wednesday.
Roberto Carballes Baena vs. Thomaz Bellucci
There is not much reason to think that Carballes Baena, a lucky loser who then won his first-round match, can stand toe to toe with Bellucci. A lucky loser, to remind bettors, is not a casual term, but an actual technical (industry) label for a player who gets knocked out of the qualifying round for the tournament, but stays on site at the tournament and is given entry into the tournament when another player pulls out at the last minute before taking the court for his first-round match. Carballes Baena has made himself some extra money by staying in Sao Paulo. Now, though, against a talented Brazilian player, he’s not likely to have the upper hand. Bellucci has not enjoyed the career he’d want, but he has still made a comfortable living on tour and is boosted by a first-round bye in this tournament, making him more rested than his weary opponent. In terms of talent and rest and the home-nation crowd, Bellucci has all the factors riding on his side of the ledger. Take Bellucci with your tennis picks in this spot as he should cash in.
Pick: Bellucci in straight sets
Pablo Cuevas vs. Facundo Bagnis
This could be interesting, but it ultimately should be a routine match. Bettors could be concerned that the third-seeded Cuevas is ripe for an upset, due to the fact that he just won a tournament and could very easily be tired. We see this all the time in professional tennis, where a player who wins a tournament one week and does not take the next week off is ambushed in the first match of the next tournament because of the turnaround and the mental letdown which follows the high of winning a title. However, is Fecundo Bagnis, a qualifier, good enough to beat Cuevas on clay? Cuevas is excellent on clay – it’s by far his best surface. Also, this tournament in Sao Paulo is not that far from Rio de Janeiro. It’s not that long a distance for Cuevas to travel from one tournament to the next. Cuevas knows this is one of the few times in the year when he gets to make more money than usual. He knows that clay is his gravy train. Don’t expect Cuevas to lose, so take him with your tennis picks in this matchup.
Pick: Cuevas in straight sets
Santiago Giraldo vs. Gastao Elias
This is a matchup in which the favorite should prevail. Elias is a qualifier who moved through due to the retirement of his opponent. While that’s good for him and he’ll still win the points and money regardless, it doesn’t bode well in terms of experience. He clearly should have been tested a little bit more and chances are that he should even have advanced. When you take a look at his last matchup, Elias lost the first set to eighth-seeded Pablo Andujar, 6-1. He battled back to win the second set, 6-4, but the health of his opponent surely played a part in the outcome. Giraldo easily moved through his first round match, 6-2, 6-2, so based solely on form, Giraldo – who has accomplished more in his career – should have the advantage from any possible viewpoint. Take Giraldo with your tennis picks in this showdown.
Pick: Giraldo in straight sets
