Sebastian Baez vs Mariano Navone Rio Open Final Tennis Prediction and Pick 2/25/24

Sebastian Baez vs Mariano Navone

Feb 25, 2024

Sebastian Baez -250 / Mariano Navone +180

Fifth seed Sebastian Baez will face the qualifier Mariano Navone in an all-Argentinean final at the Rio Open. The match will be played on Sunday, February 25, 2024. Here's our Sebastian Baez vs Mariano Navone prediction.

Sebastian Baez

Sebastian Baez has been winning at least one ATP title in each of the last two seasons. And as an Argentine, he has a strong affinity for clay, as three of his four ATP titles have been won on the dirt. With that said, he will contest the biggest final of his young career on Sunday when he faces compatriot Mariano Navone. Baez has been in good form during the famed South American Golden Swing, reaching a seminal in Cordoba and a quarterfinal in Buenos Aires. In Rio, he has gone on overdrive, dropping just one set to advance into the final. His 7-5, 6-0 dismissal of Francisco Cerundolo wasn't quite as straightforward, with the 23-year-old needing to save three set points in the first set.

Mariano Navone

Before this week, Marino Navone's only taste of tour-level competition was at the Argentina Open this past week, where he qualified for a spot in the main draw and lost in the opening round to Luciano Darderi. Navone battled through qualifying at the Rio Open, but this time, he was successful in getting his first main draw win on the ATP Tour, beating fellow Argentine Federico Coria in three sets. Since then, he has defied the odds, upsetting Yannick Hanfmann, a red-hot Joao Fonseca, and World No. 23 Cameron Norrie to reach the final. Regardless of the outcome, he will celebrate a place in the world's Top 100 (up to a career-high of 60th minimum).

Sebastian Baez vs Mariano Navone Head-To-Head

This will be the first career meeting between the Sebastian Baez and Mariano Navone. 

Sebastian Baez vs Mariano Navone Prediction

Both players are in very good form, and Baez will have the slight advantage of having been in this position before. The 23-year-old is a four-time champion on the ATP Tour. Navone, who is only one year younger than his countryman, has powered through the draw against all the odds. He's a great talent with a great reach on shots and fares brilliantly on clay. He won five Challenger titles on the surface last year, so he is a man capable of pushing Baez to his limits. There's decent value in backing the underdog to take a set here which is the angle we are looking for here.

The pick in this article is the opinion of the writer, not a PickDawgz site consensus.