Chile Open 2025 Day 1: Men's singles predictions ft. Cristian Garin vs Juan Ficovich, Gustavo Heide vs Thiago Seyboth Wild

The qualification round of the Chile Open has concluded and the tournament's main draw will commence on February 24. The Opening day is filled with matchups featuring home favourite Cristian Garin and Thiago Seyboth Wild, as they face qualifiers Juan Ficovich and Gustavo Heide, respectively.

The day will feature a total of four singles matches and three doubles matches. All eyes will be on Garin as he returns to tennis after his Davis Cup controversy. It will be interesting to see how the crowd's favourite navigates through his first-round match against a qualifier on his home turf.

On that note, let’s take a detailed look at the predictions for the men's singles event at the Chile Open.

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#1. Yannick Hanfmann vs Facundo Diaz Acosta

Yannick Hanfmann at the 2025 Australian Open - Source: Getty

Yannick Hanfmann will face Argentina’s, Facundo Diaz Acosta in the first round of the Chile Open. The two will lock horns on the ATP Tour for the very first time and the winner will face top seed Francisco Cerundolo in the second round.

Both players last competed at the Rio Open, with Diaz Acosta losing in the opening round while Hanfmann lost in the first qualifying round.

The German has won just one main-draw match so far in 2025 while the Argentine has triumphed in three fixtures. Hanfmann has previously beaten Diaz outside the ATP Tour and if he is at his best, there is a good chance of him coming out on top again.

Predicted winner: Yannick Hanfmann

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#2 Ignacio Buse vs Laslo Djere

Laslo Djere at the US Open 2024 - Source: Getty

Wildcard entrant Ignacio Buse will take on Serbia’s Laslo Djere, a seasoned clay-court player. Djere’s consistency, heavy topspin, and patience on the court make him a formidable opponent on this surface. The Serb is coming off a decent ATP 250 event in Buenos Aires, where he reached the semifinal but lost to the eventual winner Joao Fonseca.

Buse, a rising talent, who has played a handful of matches on the ATP level but comes through wide experience on challenger tours and ITF circuits. In 2025, he failed to qualify through any ATP events and faced early-round exits in the challenger tour as well

Given Djere’s superior clay-court pedigree and experience, he is likely to dominate the encounter. They have not faced each other on the ATP tour but have met once on the challenge tour where the Serb won the match in three sets.

Predicted winner: Laslo Djere

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#3 Cristian Garin vs Juan Ficovich

Juan Pablo Ficovich at the Internazionali di Tennis Citt dell'Aquila - Source: Getty

Home favorite Cristian Garin will face Juan Ficovich in a highly anticipated match. Garin, a former World No. 17 and multiple ATP clay-court title winner thrives on the slow surface. But the Chilean player has had a horror season till now as he failed to qualify for the previous tournament, the Rio Open. Before that, he faced a second-round exit at the Australian Open against World No. 4 Taylor Fritz.

Despite his setbacks this season, Garin is a favorite to win the tournament given his experience and the support he could receive from the home crowd.

Ficovich, a qualifier, failed to qualify for the previous two tournaments the Rio Open and Buenos Aires but finally broke down the barrier in Santiago. The Argentine went through two rounds of qualification to enter the main draw, where he defeated Adolfo Daniel Vallejo in straight sets and compatriot Roman Andres Burruchaga in a three-set battle.

Even though the players have not contested on the ATP tour they have faced each other on the challenger tour where Garin defeated the Argentine in straight sets at Lisbon that too on a clay court. Additionally, playing in front of a supportive Chilean crowd should further boost the local boy's confidence.

Predicted winner: Cristian Garin

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#4 Gustavo Heide vs Thiago Seyboth Wild

Gustavo Heide at the 2019 French Open - Source: Getty

This will be an all-Brazilian matchup between Gustavo Heide and Thiago Seyboth Wild. The latter is the only top 100 player to feature on the first day of the Chile Open. He hasn't had the best of starts to 2025, winning just two out of six main-draw matches.

Heide, a young and promising talent, qualified through to the main draw. He defeated Genaro Alberto Olivieri 6-2, 6-2 in the first round and Thiago Agustin Tirante in three sets.

While Heide’s determination and recent form make him a dangerous opponent, Seyboth Wild’s experience and attacking gameplay should give him the edge in this encounter. This will be recorded as the players’ first match-up against each other including qualification rounds, challenger tour, and ATP tour.

Predicted winner: Thiago Seyboth Wild