Dušan Lajović vs Daniel Elahi Galan Prediction & Betting Tips - ATP Rio Open

Prediction published on 18/02/2024, 04:43  by Steve Ashfield | Modified on 18/02/2024 at 05:44 in Tennis Predictions

Two unseeded players face each other in the first round of the Rio Open. Dusan Lajovic takes on Daniel Elahi Galan with the winner facing either sixth seed Laslo Djere or unseeded Bernabe Zapata Miralles. Lajovic is 58th in the live rankings which is well below his career high of 23rd. His year didn't get off to a good start with some poor performances in hard court tournaments. He didn't get past the second round in either Adelaide or the Australian Open. A Davis Cup defeat followed bu then he got to the last eight of the Argentina Open with good wins over Arthur Fils and Alejandro Tabilo (seeded in this tournament) before losing to Facundo Diaz Acosta. That did his position in the Live ATP Race the power of good taking him up over 100 places. He'll look to build on that good form in Rio. 

Daniel Elahi Galan is 109th in the ATP Live Race and has won five of his nine matches played this year. He's at 78th in the live rankings but has been as high as 56th in the past. 2024 began for him with a 2-2 record on hard courts and made it to round two of the Australian Open. His clay court season didn't start well with a first round loss in Cordoba to Jaume Munar. He qualified for the main draw in Buenos Aires but only won three games in round one against Tomas Martin Etcheverry. He's playing Lajovic for the first time and we tip his opponent to win this match.