By Tony Fairbairn
- Andy Murray def Yannick Hanfmann 7-5 6-4
- Murray v Tomas Martin Etcheverry | H2H: Murray leads 1-0
BASEL, SWITZERLAND – Andy Murray ground down Yannick Hanfmann in straight sets to reach the second round in Basel where he will face Tomas Martin Etcheverry.
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Andy Murray def Yannick Hanfmann 7-5 6-4
Andy Murray is into the second round in Basel after a gruelling straight sets win over Yannick Hanfmann in Basel. Just like a typical Murray match this season, the opening set was a tough battle with it taking 84 minutes with three of the first four games having at least four deuces in it.
The opening four games took about 45 minutes as Murray lacked the aggression needed to shorten up the points. Some powerful backhands from Hanfmann pushed Murray behind the baseline consistently but the Brit’s defensive skills was too good as the German produced an unforced error to give Murray a 4-2 lead.
Serving with confidence was key to winning the match and Murray just did that in the next game as a love hold put him in cruise control of the opening set as he took a 5-2 lead. However Murray never likes to do things the easy way and the Brit once again proved that by hitting too many unforced errors when serving for the opening set.
This allowed Hanfmann back into the match as Murray failed to convert set point with a backhand error handing the momentum back to the German. The Brit managed to regain his confidence after the tenth game though and eventually Murray converted his second set point to take the opening set 7-5 in a brutal opening set.
In the second set, Murray was under pressure as a mix of variety and power allowed Hanfmann to create three break points in the third game. However Murray’s ability to problem solve allowed him to hold with the Brit taking control of the second set with a break to take a 4-2 lead.
Just like in the first set, Murray couldn’t close out the match on his own serve as he was broken by the big hitting of Hanfmann. That didn’t matter though as a typical Murray point ended in a forehand unforced error from the German as the three-time Grand Slam champion sealed a place in the second round.
Andy Murray v Tomas Martin Etcheverry H2H & Match Fundamentals
| Andy Murray v Tomas Martin Etcheverry | H2H: Murray leads 1-0 |
| ATP Basel 2023 | Basel, Switzerland |
| Indoor Hard | Prize Money: €32,115 |
| Fourth on Center Court (Not before 19:00 BST) | Amazon Prime Video <– Sign up for trial |
Murray now faces Argentinian Tomas Martin Etcheverry for a place in the quarter-finals.
Tale of the Tape – Key Stats (2023)
| H2H: | Andy Murray (WR 40) | Tomas Martin Etcheverry (WR 32) |
| Tournament Previous Best | Quarter-Final (2005) | N/A |
| 1st Serve % | 61.3 | 63.3 |
| Service Games Won % | 80.7 | 81.2 |
| Break Points Saved % | 61.9 | 62.7 |
| 2nd Serve Return Points Won % | 50.2 | 49.8 |
| Break Points Converted % | 32.2 | 37.1 |
Murray will need to be consistently aggressive on serve as he takes on an efficient returner in the form of Etcheverry.
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Playing styles and prediction
Since reaching the Roland Garros quarter-finals, Etcheverry has failed to gain any consistent form as he continues to struggle on hard courts. Now the Argentinian will look to end the season strongly as he aims to be seeded for January’s Australian Open.
Murray will look to use depth and pace to force errors from Etcheverry’s game as he will look to make approaches to the net to finish points off earlier. Meanwhile the Argentinian will look to grind from the baseline and extend the rallies while being dominant on return. One thing is guaranteed in this match and that’s the duration of the contest being long with the winner likely to be determined by who can be the more consistent on the bigger points. A win for Murray would give him a huge confidence boost heading into next season.
Prediction: Murray in three sets.
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