World number two Andy Murray meets world number eight David Ferrer in what is going to be a long, grueling baseline battle between two of the world’s best. The duo are third up in the day session on Rod Laver Arena with the winner taking on the winner of Milos Raonic and Gael Monfils for a spot in the final.
Murray’s Road To The Quarters
The Brit opened up his campaign against youngster Alexander Zverev. It was an outstanding performance from the Brit, dispatching the German 6-1, 6-2, 6-3. Next up was home favorite Sam Groth. In another impressive performance from the Brit, he out-aced the home favorite shockingly in another straightforward victory.
Murray’s third round match against 32nd-seeded Joao Sousa was the only time he was tested so far in this tournament, dropping a set against the Portuguese number one. After dropping the second set though, he rolled, winning the third and fourth sets 6-2, 6-2. His final match was against final Australian hope Bernard Tomic. Tomic, who believes he is a top ten player, looked anything but that as the Scot easily took him out in straights.
Ferrer’s Road To The Quarters
The Spaniard is the only player through to the quarterfinals who has not dropped a set. After an easy first round win, Ferrer was put on upset alert by many as he faced off against Lleyton Hewitt in the Aussie’s last ever Grand Slam. Ferrer was merciless in beating down the Aussie in straights, ending his career.
After that, the eight seed became the American slayer, knocking off Steve Johnson and John Isner. 10th-seeded Isner was not broken or even faced a break point until Ferrer broke him three times in his win over the last American in the draw.
Head-To-Head
Andy Murray leads the head-to-head 12-6. He's won the last five meetings, inclduing all three of their matchups last year. The last time these two met was at the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals with the Brit winning in straights. The last time Ferrer won was at the Shanghai Masters. Despite dropping the opener in that one, he rolled Murray in the final two sets, only dropping three games.
Player Analysis
Murray and Ferrer are very similar players. Both like to take control of rallies from the baseline and do not have that one-killer shot. Both men are known for their speed and movement on the court. Despite not having the killer shot, Murray’s backhand is his best shot. He hits his two-handed backhand best when he goes down the line.
No knock on Ferrer, whose game has gotten him as far as he is, but Murray just does everything better than him in every aspect of the game from groundstrokes, movement, volleying, and even serving. This match will be on Murray’s racket throughout the whole match, knowing that this championship was his goal for the season.
Prediction: Andy Murray in straights
This match has the potential to be a marathon given both of their playstyles. However, Murray will be the more offensive of the two players tonight looking to go after his shots and forcing Ferrer on the defensive. With the Spaniard playing defense often, this match will be firmly in Murray’s control.