Andy Murray has yet to win the French Open in his career. His dream of becoming a champion in the event, however, is still alive and he’ll be looking to barge into the quarterfinals of this tournament for the third-straight year when he goes up against the American John Isner. Will Murray advance to the quarters? Or will Isner continue to be the last American standing in Paris?
For just the second time in his career, Isner was able to book a spot in the fourth round of the tournament, thanks to a win over Teymuraz Gabashvili in the third round in a competitive five-setter that ended with a 7-6 (9-7), 4-6, 2-6, 6-4, 6-2 score.
Isner has been bringing the heat in his first serves in the tournament, as evidenced further in his win over Gabashvili. In that game, Isner had 69 percent of his first serves in, winning 77 points from those.
Isner’s powerful and accurate serves have in fact landed him atop the ATP rankings, having won 79.8% of his first serves on clay thus far this year.
Once concerning trend for Isner, however, is his tendency to rack up a load of miscues. He had at least 66 unforced errors in two of his three wins thus far in the tournament. He’ll have to polish on that soon, as he’s about to face his toughest challenge yet in Andy Murray.
Betting on Andy Murray
After two hard-earned wins that each went the full five-set route, Andy Murray finally had an easy one. Murray punched his ticket to the fourth round after blasting Ivo Karlovic in straight sets, 6-1, 6-4, 7-6 (7-3).
Although he was barely tested in the third round, Murray got some sort of preview of what to expect of the 6-foot-10 Isner. Karlovic stands 6-foot-11 and like Isner, uses his tall frame to create favorable angles for his serves. Murray, though, has faced Isner five times before, winning all of those matchups. While he’s undefeated against the American thus far in his career, Murray can’t get confident, as Isner was able to play him tough in those meetings, winning four sets in the five meetings.
Murray’s defense is going to be tested anew by Isner, who’ll be looking to take advantage of his powerful serves. Murray, however, is great in taming his opponents’ first serves, as evidenced by his second-ranked 36.3% first serve return points won on clay surfaces this year. He’s also won points on 37.3% of his returns.
