In his quest to win for the second year in a row the Rio Open presented by Claro, Briton Cameron Norrie will once again face a Brazilian on his way to the title.
Last year, Thiago Monteiro was his opponent at the second round. This time, Norrie takes on Thiago Seyboth Wild at que quarterfinals of the 10th edition of the tournament.
"He's a great player and I feel like he plays really, really well when he's the underdog and has nothing to lose. He always plays really well in big matches and Slams. I've seen him play close with some top players at the French Open last year and with Rublev, I think he lost in five sets in the Australian Open, so he's really talented", said Norrie about their first ever encounter.
"I'm gonna have to expect the crowd to be on his side, I actually played Monteiro last year here, so I know what to expect with the crowd. They love the tennis and they're really passionate. So I'm expecting a tough match.”
Wild, Brazilian top player, will play his first ever ATP 500 quarterfinal at Quadra Guga Kuerten this Friday, not before 6 pm.
Opening at the main court of Jockey Club Brasileiro is another local favorite, Monteiro, who takes on Argentinian Sebastian Baez. It will be their third match up at an ATP event. Monteiro won in Rio in 2022 and Baez took the last victory, also two years ago, in Santiago.
And the last match of the day at Quadra Guga Kuerten will oppose 17-year-old João Fonseca and Argentinian Mariano Navone.
It will be their first matchup at an ATP event. They played a Challenger in Sao Leopoldo two years ago and the Brazilian won.
"Navone is an old acquaintance, we played a challenger a few years ago and I won my secont match against him. I know it’s going to be a very tough match, he’s an Argentinian, runs a lot and hits a lot and it’s also in a great place right now”, said the youngest Brazilian to ever reach a quarterfinal of an ATP event in the Open Era (before him its was Kuerten at 1996 Umag at 19 years & 11 months).
"I’m living a dream and I haven’t realized what I’ve achieved yet. But I wanna keep dreaming, I’m really happy with my path up until now but I want more. I’m happy with the way I’ve been playing and how I grew this past year not only technically but also mentally and physically. I’m not a star. I’m just begining my career now, I’m young and I’m just playing tennis and beeing happy. The tennis carreer is a long one and I’m just starting. I want more”, said Fonseca.
At Quadra 1, Argentinian Francisco Cerundolo faces Dusan Lajovic. It’s their second head to head _the Serbian won their encounter last year in Cincinnati.
“I lost to him last year and he always plays really well at the South American swing. It’s gonna be a tough match and I need to prepare the best way I can”, said Cerundolo.
ORDER OF PLAY - FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 23, 2024
QUADRA GUGA KUERTEN start 4:30 pm
[WC] T. Monteiro (BRA) or [Q] F. Meligeni Alves (BRA) vs F. Diaz Acosta (ARG) or [5] S. Baez (ARG)
Not Before 6:00 pm
T. Seyboth Wild (BRA) vs [2] C. Norrie (GBR)
[WC] J. Fonseca (BRA) or C. Garin (CHI) vs [Q] M. Navone (ARG) or Y. Hanfmann (GER)
QUADRA 1 start 4:00 pm
Quarterfinals - [4] F. Cerundolo (ARG) vs D. Lajovic (SRB) or [6] L. Djere (SRB)
Semifinals - Possible Suitable Rest - N. Barrientos (COL) / R. Matos (BRA) vs R. Carballes Baena (ESP) / D. Lajovic (SRB) or S. Bolelli (ITA) / A. Vavassori (ITA)
Not Before 7:00 pm
Quarterfinals - Time TBA - [3] M. Gonzalez (ARG) / A. Molteni (ARG) or [WC] F. Romboli (BRA) / T. Seyboth Wild (BRA) vs A. Erler (AUT) / L. Miedler (AUT)
Final - Wheelchair Tennis Elite Pro - [1] A. Hewett (GBR) or S. Kunieda (JPN) vs D. Rodrigues (BRA) or [2] G. Reid (GBR)
