Alexander Shevchenko and Thiago Monteiro will be among those in first round action at the ATP Rio Open 2025 on Monday, February 17. Here’s the preview, predictions and tips for these matches from Rio in Brazil.
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Alexander Shevchenko v Felipe Meligeni Alves Preview
Head-to-Head: Shevchenko and Meligeni Alves have never faced off before this.
Once ranked 45th in the world, Alexander Shevchenko hasn’t had the kind of performances that would have helped him remain there or thereabouts. He has fallen to 89th at the moment and returns to the surface he has won a few Challenger titles.
This isn’t to say that Shevchenko hasn’t had the results in hardcourt competitions and his record this year of 3-5 on that surface is more an indicator of his struggles than anything else.
Shevchenko has a good chance of trying to improve on that as he takes on the Brazilian wildcard and 149th-ranked Felipe Meligeni Alves. Meligeni Alves first featured in the Australian Open qualifiers this year where he lost his opener following which he has opted to get back to clay.
He lost an opener in a Challenger competition, then made the second round in a Challenger in Rosario before falling in the qualifier stage of the Argentina Open. He will find it tough against Shevchenko but could put up a challenge.
Shevchenko v Meligeni Alves prediction: Shevchenko to win: 11/10
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Facundo Diaz Acosta v Thiago Monteiro Preview
Head-to-Head: All three of their meetings have come on clay and at the Challenger level and Monteiro leads 2-1.
The 75th-ranked Facundo Diaz Acosta is coming off a first round loss at the Argentina Open which was his first match on clay for the season. It was a fighting encounter in which he had grabbed the opening set against Thiago Seyboth Wild before he lost the next two.
What needs to be seen is if the 2024 Argentina Open winner Diaz Acosta has recovered from the injury that forced him to retire from his Australian Open second round encounter.
And he has a tough opener here in the form of Thiago Monteiro who was once ranked 61st in the world but has fallen to 100th.
Monteiro himself had a golden chance to get past Felipe Meligeni Alves in the Argentina Open last week but fell in the final set tie-breaker, losing it 10-8.
That being said, Monteiro had a brilliant last season on clay and while he didn’t win a single trophy at any level, he had made the quarterfinals in Rio, third round in Madrid and then entered the fourth round of the competition at Rome.
He will be a favourite here.
Diaz Acosta v Monteiro prediction: Monteiro to win: 17/20
Francisco Comesana v Gustavo Heide Preview
Head-to-Head: Their only previous meeting came on the Challenger circuit in 2023 and Comesana had won that encounter.
A winner of three Challenger titles last year, Francisco Comesana is ranked 84th in the world, his career-best.
He might not have had the best of starts to the season though but has a good chance to improve on his ranking here in Rio having gotten knocked out of the tournament in the first round last season.
This year, Comesana began his clay court journey at the Rosario Challenger where he made the quarterfinals but at the Argentina Open last year, he was beaten first up by Mariano Navone.
Comesana has a good chance to clinch a win here as he takes on the Brazilian wildcard Gustavio Heide, a player ranked 159th in the world.
Heide tried his hands at the Australian Open qualifier to kick-start his season but was ousted in the very first round there and since then has been playing on clay in South American Challenger competitions.
He was knocked out of the qualifiers of the Argentina Open as well and has a tall task ahead of him now.
Comesana v Heide prediction: Comesana to win: 3/5
