Joao Sousa (Twitter)
3rd seed Albert Ramos-Vinolas takes on Portuguese veteran Joao Sousa in the quarterfinals of the 2023 Cordoba Open on Friday.
The experienced southpaw came into the tournament on the back of first-round exits in the Adelaide International 2 and the Australian Open. He lost to John Millman in Adelaide before losing to Maxime Cressy in the Australian Open.
After receiving a bye into the round of 16, Ramos-Vinolas faced Dusan Lajovic. The Spanish star won the match in three sets 6-4, 2-6, 6-2 to make it to the quarterfinals. He is one of the favorites to win the competition owing to his impressive record on clay.
The 33-year-old won his first tour-level match when he got the better of Tomas Martin Etcheverry in the round of 32. Sousa came back from a set and a break down to defeat the Argentine 3-6, 7-6 (7-5), 6-4 in 3 hours and 5 minutes.
In the round of 16, Sousa emerged victorious in a slugfest against Cristian Garin. The match ended in two competitive sets 7-5, 7-6 (8-6) in favor of the experienced campaigner. Sousa has shown a lot of grit and determination in the two matches so far and will not mind grinding it out to go deeper in the competition.
Albert Ramos-Vinolas and Joao Sousa will know a lot about each other’s games as they have faced each other on 9 occasions. The Spaniard has a comfortable 7-2 lead in the head-to-head scoreline as of now. He defeated Sousa in straight sets 6-0, 6-3 in their most recent encounter in the 2019 Geneva Open.
Prediction: Albert Ramos-Vinolas to win in three sets.
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