British superstar Andy Murray begins his quest for a third successive clay court title later today when he squares off with Jeremy Chardy in the second round of the Italian Open. Murray is fresh off a shocking victory against Rafael Nadal in the Madrid Open final and he would want nothing more than to extend his winning streak on clay against Chardy.
Who will emerge victorious in this second-round showdown? Read on below for an in-depth breakdown of this matchup and while you’re at it, you can check out our preview of the match between Roger Federer and Pablo Cuevas here.
Andy Murray will head to the Italian Open with momentum on his side after upsetting Rafael Nadal in the finals of the Madrid Open last week. He demolished Nadal in straight sets, 6-3, 6-2, to snap the Spaniard’s 14-match winning streak in the tournament.
[sc:Other240banner ]It was a stunning victory for Murray who was 0-6 against Nadal on clay prior to his win on Sunday. Murray has been phenomenal on the clay courts this season, amassing a 9-0 record thus far in this surface. He is just the fourth player to beat Nadal in a clay court final.
This was just the second clay court title of Murray’s career having won his first championship at Munich just the previous week. He defeated Philipp Kohlschreiber in a dramatic final there, winning 7-6 (4), 5-7, 7-6 (4).
Key to Murray’s resurgence has been his excellent serve. He managed to keep Nadal off-balance in the final with his varying service patterns and that helped him win 17 of his 21 second-serve points. He also denied all of the Spaniard’s three break point attempts in the final.
The main concern for Murray, however, heading into his match with Chardy is fatigue. He has played the maximum nine matches in his last two events and fatigue could play a factor in his second-round showdown with the Frenchman. To make matters worse for Murray, he also has an abrasion on his right thumb.
With that being said, he will fancy his chances of beating Chardy in the next round. He is 5-1 in his career against the Frenchman. He walloped Chardy in straight sets in their last meeting, beating him 6-4, 6-1, 6-2 in the quarterfinals of the 2013 Australian Open.
Jeremy Chardy barged into the second round of the Italian Open with a nervy 7-6 (0), 6-4 win over Lukas Rosol on Monday. Things are bound to get tougher for the Frenchman as he will next face the red-hot Andy Murray.
For Chardy to record a shock upset, he will need his serve to be right on target against Murray. His serve was superb in the match against Rosol, blasting 10 aces in the straight-sets win. He converted 67% of his first serves, winning 31 of his 40 first serve points. He was even better with his second serve, winning 17 of his 20 points there for an impressive 85% clip.
What was disappointing about Chardy’s game, however, in the first round was his failure to convert break point opportunities. He was only 1 of 12 in his break chances against Rosol and that simply won’t do against a talented player such as Murray who’s in a rich vein of form right now.
Even though he carries a losing record (1-5) against Murray, Chardy will take comfort in the fact that he has already beaten the third-seeded Murray before. He edged past Murray in the round of 16 at the 2013 Cincinnati Masters, beating him in straight sets, 6-4, 6-4.
Interestingly, all six of their previous matches have occurred on the hard surfaces. This will be the first time that Murray and Chardy will square off on clay.
