Rio Open 2025 Day 2: Men's singles predictions ft. Joao Fonseca vs Alexandre Muller, Sebastian Baez vs Sumit Nagal

Day 2 of the Rio Open 2025 will mark the conclusion of the first-round matches. Third seed Alejandro Tabilo was the biggest casualty on the first day and lost to Tseng Chun-hsin 6-2, 7-5. Sixth seed Nicolas Jarry was the only other seeded player in action on Monday, February 17. He avoided meeting his compatriot's fate with a 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 comeback win.

It was a disappointing day for the home crowd as only one of four Brazilians in action on the first day won their matches. Felipe Meligeni Alves, Gustavo Heide, and Thiago Seyboth Wild were all sent packing. Thiago Monteiro was the only player from the host nation to taste success.

Top seed Alexander Zverev headlines the order of play on the second day. With plenty of matches to look forward to, here are the predictions for some of the singles matches set for Day 2 of the Rio Open:

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#1 Joao Fonseca vs Alexandre Muller

Fonseca made headlines when he upset top 10 player Andrey Rublev in the first round of the Australian Open a few weeks ago. Although he lost in the second round, expectations were high for him, and the Brazilian teenager met them rather quickly.

Fonseca captured his maiden career title at the Argentina Open. He saved a couple of match points en route to the final and beat Francisco Cerundolo in the summit clash to become one of the youngest players to win their first career title at the age of 18 years. He will now be one of the biggest attractions at the Rio Open.

Muller won the Hong Kong Open to start the season but hasn't won a match since then. The Frenchman is unlikely to beat the in-form Fonseca, that too in front of a packed crowd in support of the teenager.

Predicted winner: Joao Fonseca

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#2 Tomas Martin Etcheverry vs Corentin Moutet

This will be Tomas Martin Etcheverry's second appearance at the Rio Open. (Photo: Getty)

Etcheverry went 2-2 on hardcourts during the Australian swing. He hoped to perform better in front of his home crowd at last week's Argentina Open but fell to Fonseca in the first round. Moutet, on the other hand, has performed slightly better. He reached the third round of the Australian Open before progressing to the second round of the Argentina Open.

Both players are now looking to win their first match at the Rio Open. Moutet fell at the first hurdle in 2020 and 2024, and Etcheverry suffered the same fate in 2023. This will be the first career meeting between them.

While Moutet is the more in-form player, Etcheverry is the better player on clay. The former has a 27-39 career record on the surface, while the latter has a 40-34 record on the red dirt throughout his career. The Argentine will be favored to come out on top in this encounter.

Predicted winner: Tomas Martin Etcheverry

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#3 Sebastian Baez vs Sumit Nagal

Baez has a 1-3 record this year, with his first win coming at last week's Argentina Open. He beat Camilo Ugo Carabelli in the first round before losing to Seyboth Wild in the next round. He's the defending champion at the Rio Open, so he's going to have to find his best form this week or suffer a huge drop in the rankings.

Fortunately for him, Baez is likely to win at least one match as Nagal, his first-round opponent here, is yet to win a match this year. The latter has gone 0-3 this season, and he hasn't won a match since losing in the second round of last year's Kitzbuhel Open in July. His overall losing streak now stands at 10 matches.

Baez has won five of his six career titles on clay, and all of them have come in the past three years. Given his proficiency on the surface, along with Nagal's dreadful form, he will be expected to begin his Rio Open title defense with a win.

Predicted winner: Sebastian Baez

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#4 Francisco Cerundolo vs Hugo Gaston

Francisco Cerundolo is the fourth seed at the Rio Open 2025. (Photo: Getty)

Cerundolo scored one of the biggest wins of his career as he rallied from a set down to beat World No. 2 Zverev at the Argentina Open. He made it to the final, where he fell to Fonseca in straight sets.

Gaston went down to Federico Coria in the first round of the Argentina Open. Before that, he had to abort his Australian Open campaign halfway through his second-round match due to an injury. While both of his ATP finals have been on clay, he has a 20-21 record on the surface. He also won his only prior match against Cerundolo at last year's Lyon Open.

Cerundolo has a 7-3 record at the Rio Open and has advanced to the semifinals on two occasions. He has won two of his three titles on clay and has a 63-42 career record on it. While he came up short against Gaston the last time they crossed paths, he should be able to avenge that loss based on their performances this year.

Predicted winner: Francisco Cerundolo