Andy Murray’s quest for a first French Open crown is alive and well after he dispatched France’s Jeremy Chardy. The World No. 3 has been unbeatable on clay this year, but his quarterfinal opponent David Ferrer has a lot of experience in bringing the Brit down on dirt. Can the Spaniard sink Murray again for a spot at the semis? Read on below as we preview this quality quarterfinal matchup.
But with all due respect to those two, all eyes will be on the finals-worthy match between Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal. Check out our preview of that blockbuster quarterfinal here.
Andy Murray is back in the last eight of Roland Garros as he ousted French contender Jeremy Chardy, 6-4, 3-6, 6-3, 6-2 in the round of 16. Murray made things a little tougher for himself after he failed to capitalize on five break points in the second set. But he rallied very well in the succeeding two sets to claim the win in just under three hours.
[sc:Other240banner ]Murray’s serve wasn’t spectacular – his serve was broken by Chardy four times in six attempts – and he was significantly edged in winners, 49-35. But Murray’s patented return game was right on point, as he broke Chardy seven times and won 45 percent of return points. He also benefited from the Frenchman’s 56 unforced errors.
The World No. 3 is off to his fourth ever French Open quarterfinal and third in his last three trips to Paris (he missed the 2013 tournament). He’ll face a familiar foe in David Ferrer, who knocked him out at this very stage in 2012. In that match, Murray was broken a whopping 10 times and committed 59 unforced errors.
Murray has the edge on Ferrer in career head-to-heads, 9-6, but he’s still winless in four meetings on clay. However, three of those matchups were from four years ago. Murray has made great strides on clay since then, as evidenced by his massive 14-match unbeaten run on the surface this season. One of his 14 victims, of course, was the great Rafael Nadal.
After suffering a five-set scare against Simone Bolelli in the round of 32, David Ferrer bounced back with a routine 6-2, 6-2, 6-4 win over Marin Cilic in the round of 16. Ferrer is now in his fourth consecutive French Open quarterfinal. He was the losing finalist against Nadal in 2013.
Ferrer’s service game was strong, as he put 64 percent of his first serves in play against Cilic, and converted 78 percent of those into points. He also won 61 percent of his second serves and was aided by Cilic’s 47 unforced errors.
Ferrer has been able to limit his own mistakes very well in Paris. Excluding his match against Bolelli where he committed 37 unforced errors, Ferrer had only 55 miscues in his other three matches. Keeping mistakes to a minimum will be key against Murray, who is in the best clay court form of his life.
Ferrer won’t be suffering from any fear factor against Murray, whom he’s beaten in all four of their meetings on clay. Ferrer has been able to pounce on Murray’s poor serve (he has never put more than 53 percent of his first serves into play against Ferrer on clay) and has broken the Brit 23 times in four matches.
Writer’s Prediction
Murray (+225) finally puts one over on Ferrer as he survives in five sets.
