Andy Murray’s quest for a second Wimbledon crown is off to a rousing start after brushing aside Mikhail Kukushkin in the opening round on Tuesday. Murray will look to continue his excellent form on grass this coming Thursday when he takes on Robin Haase in a mouth-watering round of 64 clash.
Read on below for an in-depth breakdown of this second-round matchup and while you’re at it, you can check out our previews of Federer vs. Querrey and Nadal vs. Brown.
[sc:TennisArticles ]
Andy Murray vs. Robin Haase Preview
Where: All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club, Wimbledon
Andy Murray stormed into the second round of Wimbledon with a 6-4, 7-6 (3), 6-4 win over unseeded Mikhail Kukushkin on Tuesday. It was a splendid performance from the British No. 1 who needed just two hours and 12 minutes to see off the Kazakh.
[sc:Other240banner ]Murray has been simply unstoppable on grass this season. With his victory against Kukushkin, he extended his record on grass this year to a perfect 6-0. The No. 3 seed was clinical in his first-round win against Kukushkin, hitting 30 winners, converting five of seven break-point chances and winning 14 of his 19 net approaches. Of course, it also helped matters that Kukushkin committed a whopping 34 unforced errors in this match.
Murray will look to continue his hot streak when he takes on Robin Haase in the second round. He will fancy his chances of doing just that as he has fared extremely well against the Dutch in the past. Murray has won his last three meetings with Haase, with all of those victories coming in Grand Slam tournaments.
Robin Haase booked a spot in the second round of Wimbledon with a gritty 6-2, 3-6, 6-4, 6-2 victory over Alejandro Falla. It was a solid performance from Haase who needed two hours and 23 minutes to oust the Colombian star.
Things are bound to get tougher, though, for Haase as he will next face the red-hot Andy Murray. The Briton is still unbeaten on grass this year with Murray grabbing his fourth Queen’s title just last week. Haase will take heart in the fact, however, that he has given Murray fits in their previous matches.
Haase defeated Murray 6-4, 6-3, in their first-ever meeting in Rotterdam back in 2008. He almost made it back-to-back wins in the 2011 US Open but suffered a heart-breaking five-set loss to Murray, 6-7(5), 2-6, 6-2, 6-0, 6-4. He gave Murray a major scare once again in last year’s US Open, losing in four tough sets in the first round, 6-3, 7-6(6), 1-6, 7-5.
For Haase to record a major shock this coming Thursday, he needs to improve on his service game, particularly his first serve. He converted just 56% (60-of-107) of his first serves against Falla with Haase winning 44 of his 60 first serve points. That simply won’t do against a talented player like Murray who won 44% of his receiving points Tuesday.
Haase is 4-1 on grass this year.
Writer’s Prediction
Murray (-4,000) edges past Haase in a four-set thriller.
