Chile Open: Cecchinato vs Monteiro Tennis Prediction & Pick

TennisSection previews the 2023 Chile Open as Marco Cecchinato takes on Thiago Monteiro in the Round of 16 on Wednesday, March 1, 2023.

It will be a clash between two unseeded players at the Chile Open when Italy’s Marco Cecchinato plays Brazilian lefty Thiago Monteiro. Who will win back-to-back matches for the first time this season?

Marco Cecchinato picked up his third win of the season and just his second of the South American Golden Swing. Cecchinato was hoping to rekindle his 2023 season with strong performances on the red clay in February. But those hopes vanished in thin air, after retiring in Cordoba and then losing in the second round of qualifying in Rio. But he scored a confidence-boosting win over Facundo Bagnis in the first round of the Chile Open. Despite squandering three match points at 5-3 up and then dropping his serve in the next game, Cecchinato composed himself to win the match in a third-set tiebreaker.

Thiago Monteiro, meanwhile, authored an upset for the second week in a row by knocking off fifth seed Albert Ramos Vinolas to reach the second round of the Chile Open. The match lasted three hours under the scorching heat in Santiago, and it was Monteiro who prevailed, breaking the Spaniard in the very last game of the match to win 7-5 4-6 7-5.

Thiago Monteiro leads Marco Cecchinato 1-0 in their head-to-head. He defeated the Italian to win the Punta del Este Challenger final three years ago in a pulsating match. This should be another cracking contest. Cecchinato is a great shot-maker on the red clay with his variation a key pillar in his game. But Monteiro will have that little bit of power and injection of pace to hold off the Italian from executing his game plan here. And if the Brazilian lefty plays at a similar level from his week in Rio, we should see him make the quarterfinal of the Chile Open.