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Murray advances convincingly to Doha R2

Jake Davies
Tennis

 

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By Jake Davies

  • Andy Murray [1] defeats Jeremy Chardy 6-0 7-6 (2)
  • Now holds a 25 match winning streak in competitive matches
  • Murray vs Gerald Melzer in the Doha second round on Wednesday
DOHA, QATAR – Andy Murray kept his tour level winning streak going in fine style with a convincing win in his season opener at the Qatar ExxonMobil Open.

 

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Andy Murray [1] defeats Jeremy Chardy 6-0 7-6 (2)

Andy Murray could not have asked for a better start to his preparation for Melbourne. The Briton managed to handle the firepower of Jeremy Chardy with ease. In his first competitive match of 2017, Murray dropped just the seven points in the first set and handed a bagel set to the Frenchman in the process.

Chardy responded well in the second set, taking the early break, but Murray broke back immediately and eventually won the match in a one-sided tiebreak.

The two-time Olympic champion has tasted great success in Doha in the past. He won the title back in 2008 and 2009 and also made the final in the event back in 2007, so he has responded well to the conditions in previous outings here.

 

Andy Murray [1] vs Gerald Melzer – H2H: First meeting

The Austrian left-hander, Gerald Melzer, brother of Jurgen Melzer, will be Murray’s next opponent in the Doha second round.

Melzer’s 2016 season started perfectly. The Austrian won two Challenger level titles at the beginning of the year and finished the season with four Challenger titles inside the one season. Results like this contributed to Melzer’s rise inside the World’s Top 70, and helped him play his first ever major main draw match at the French Open in 2016.

Confidence is a cherished commodity in tennis. Melzer won 44 matches in total on the Challenger circuit last season but only won a handful of matches on the ATP tour, which shows he still has plenty of room to improve.

The World No.1 Murray holds an exceptional record against most left-handed players. Murray has a 77-21 record against all left-handers, which includes 17 losses vs Rafael Nadal. Which shows that Murray has proved very tough to overcome when he comes up against the majority of the left-handers on tour.

Murray is unbeaten since losing the US Open quarter-final to Kei Nishikori and is looking to win his six consecutive title and is the favourite to take home the Doha title later this week.

Prediction: Murray in two sets.

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