Andy Murray continued his fine play at this year’s Wimbledon Championships when he secured his place in the fourth round by defeating Italian Andreas Seppi, 6-2, 6-2, 1-6, 6-1, on Saturday. Murray will strive to keep rolling as he steps on to Centre Court for an intriguing showdown with No. 23 seed Ivo Karlovic this coming Monday. Read on further for a full breakdown of this round-of-16 matchup.
Meanwhile, over at the women’s side, you may check out our in-depth preview of the tasty fourth-round collision between Serena Williams and Venus Williams.
[sc:TennisArticles ]Andy Murray vs. Ivo Karlovic Preview
Where: All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club, Wimbledon
When: Monday, July 6, 10:00 AM ET
Line: Andy Murray (-1,200) vs. Ivo Karlovic (+700) – view all Wimbledon Men’s Singles lines
Betting on Andy Murray
Andy Murray’s determination to win was on full display during his third round clash with Andreas Seppi. The 2013 champion battled for two hours and eight minutes with an ailing shoulder, which proved to be a bit worrisome, to earn his seventh consecutive victory over the Italian and ultimately, a place in the round of 16.
[sc:Other240banner ]Murray, who improved to 7-1 versus Seppi, drilled 32 winners and won 48% (44/91) of his receiving points. He combined this with his ever-efficient service game by winning 70% (42/60) of his first serve points that was eventually more than enough to overcome the resilient Seppi. Also, with this win, the 28-year-old extended his untarnished run on grass to eight-straight matches despite committing 26 unforced errors, which is his highest total thus far in the tournament.
Now, Murray will try to continue his dominance against his fourth-round opponent Ivo Karlovic. The odds are definitely in favor for the Briton, as he’s gotten the best of Karlovic over their last five meetings. That stretch includes their first and only matchup at Wimbledon back in 2012, when Murray needed four sets to eliminate the Croatian in the second round with an entertaining 7-5, 6-7(5), 6-2, 7-6(4) victory.
Murray has been unbeaten in his last eight matches.
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Betting on Ivo Karlovic
Ivo Karlovic became the oldest man in 39 years to advance to the fourth round at Wimbledon when he squeaked past 13th seed Jo Wilfried-Tsonga of France 7-6(3), 4-6, 7-6(2), 7-6(9) in the third round on Saturday. It was a spectacular performance from the 36-year-old Croat, who needed two hours and 51 minutes to record the win and earn his seat at the round-of-16 for the third time in his career.
However, his next opponent is bound to be the most difficult one yet—Andy Murray. The Briton has been simply unstoppable this year, especially when playing on grass. Also, Karlovic has never beaten Murray at all throughout his career. He’ll have another, or possibly even his last opportunity in doing so at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club.
Of course, it’ll be easier said than done for Karlovic to pull of such a massive upset this Monday. He’ll need to continue to his thunderous serving. Karlovic has smashed in a total of 136 aces in his last three matches, putting him just 77 more shy of reaching fellow countryman Goran Ivanisevic’s tournament-high of 213 back in 2001. Furthermore, the 23rd seed had a sizzling service game against Tsonga, winning 90% (89/99) of his first serve points, while hammering in 83 winners as well.
Meanwhile, his net game has also been one of his key assets in the tournament thus far. He has won 61% of his net points in his three matches and. This aggressiveness from Karlovic might just be enough to make things quite uncomfortable for the No. 3 in the world.
Karlovic has is 4-2 on grass this season.
Writer’s Prediction
Murray (-1,200) reigns supreme over Karlovic in four sets.
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