Chile Open: Jarry vs Schwartzman Tennis Prediction & Pick

TennisSection previews the 2023 Chile Open as Nicolas Jarry takes on Diego Schwartzman in the Round of 16 on Wednesday, March 1, 2023.

Can Nicolas Jarry build on last week’s outstanding performances in Rio? Or will Diego Schwartzman win for the first time since the Australian Open? This is a fascinating second-round match at the Chile Open, so who will prevail?

Nicolas Jarry picked up from where he left off. Following last week’s terrific run in Rio which almost saw him notch a career-best win over Carlos Alcaraz in the semifinals, Jarry won in his hometown of Santiago for the first time, beating clay-court specialist Juan Pablo Varillas 7-6 6-4 to get his Chile Open campaign off to a great start. And with Diego Schwartzman in sixes and sevens, Jarry looks good value to make the quarterfinals at his home tournament.

Diego Schwartzman is the fourth seed at the Chile Open and received a bye in the opening. I’m not sure if that is even an advantage considering he has won once in 2023. Schwartzman’s campaign has gone from bad to worse and there has been little indication he will turn his fortunes around. And with just one more tournament to salvage his Golden Swing, he must beat Nicolas Jarry to avoid tumbling down even further in the ATP rankings.

Diego Schwartzman leads Nicolas Jarry 4-0 in their head-to-head. But it is pertinent to note none of those matches came later after the 2018 season. Back then Schwartzman was at the top of his game and it looks like the decline phase has just set in. This is an unwelcome territory for him, playing a hometown favorite in Nicolas Jarry. And with the Chilean tearing the cover off the ball in the past few days, Schwartzman’s season will likely go from bad to worse at the Chile Open.