By Tony Fairbairn
- Andy Murray def David Goffin [Q] 6-3 6-2
- Murray v Andrey Rublev [5] | H2H: Tied at 1-1
INDIAN WELLS, USA – Andy Murray cruised past David Goffin to reach the second round in Indian Wells where he will face fifth seed Andrey Rublev.
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Andy Murray def David Goffin [Q] 6-3 6-2
Andy Murray is into the second round in Indian Wells after defeating David Goffin for an eighth consecutive time. In quicker conditions than usual in California, Murray made a confident start as he looked to be aggressive and take the match to Goffin. Early signs were that this was going to be a tough afternoon for the Belgian as Murray created break point in the second game, only to be denied by some resilient baseline play from the qualifier.
The rest of the set saw aggressive and efficient tennis from Murray on serve using the backhand to turn defence into attack. However the former finalist struggled to create any opportunities on return with Goffin serving with pace, constructing effective points especially on the forehand.
However when it really mattered most, Murray stepped up his game as the Brit broke to love to secure a 5-3 lead. A powerful serve secured a service hold to love as Murray comfortably sealed the opening set in 33 minutes.
There was momentum on Murray’s side as the world number 61 worked the angles, exposing Goffin’s backhand. Another unforced error in a long rally secured the break in the opening game of the second set for Murray. The backhand continued to do damage in the longer rallies as Murray continued to expose space on the court with the forehand accelerating the pace of the rallies.
Despite Goffin’s resilience on serve, Murray’s attacking quality on return was too much as a backhand cross-court winner secured the double break for a 5-2 lead. That break was the pivotal blow as Murray closed out a comfortable win with an ace to seal a place into the second round at Indian Wells.
Andy Murray v Andrey Rublev [5] H2H & Match Fundamentals
| Andy Murray v Andrey Rublev [5] | H2H: Tied at 1-1 |
| ATP Indian Wells 2024 | Indian Wells, USA |
| Hard (O) | Prize Money: $42,000 |
| Second on Stadium Two (20:30 GMT) | Sky/Now TV <- Subscription Required |
Murray will now face fifth seed Andrey Rublev in the second round with the world number five playing his first match since his disqualification in Dubai.
Tale of the Tape – Key Stats (2024)
| H2H: | Andy Murray (WR 61) | Andrey Rublev (WR 5) |
| Tournament Previous Best | Final (2009) | Semi-Final (2022) |
| 1st Serve % | 59.6 | 64.9 |
| Service Games Won % | 76.7 | 91.8 |
| Break Points Saved % | 54.3 | 74.7 |
| 2nd Serve Return Points Won % | 49.5 | 53.8 |
| Break Points Converted % | 44.1 | 31.1 |
Murray will look to continue his consistency on serving as he aims to take advantage of Rublev’s inefficient form on return.
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Playing styles and prediction
Rublev has had a decent start to the season having reached the Australian Open quarter-finals as well as gaining some good wins. However the world number five’s emotions finally cost him in Dubai as he was disqualified from his Dubai semi-final with Alexander Bublik after shouting in the face of an official. The fifth seed will now hope to learn lessons from that as he aims to regain some momentum ahead of the clay court swing.
Murray will aim to be aggressive on serve as he will look to use the forehand to keep Rublev moving as well as moving into the net to finish point off efficiently. Meanwhile Rublev will look to use the backhand to dictate play from the baseline while using depth to keep Murray behind the baseline. The faster conditions mean Murray will fancy his chances to push Rublev all the way at Indian Wells. However Rublev’s overall quality and clutch play sees him as slight favourite heading into this match.
Prediction: Rublev in three sets.
Christopher O’Connell def Jack Draper 1-6 6-3 6-2; Roman Safiullin def Dan Evans 6-1 5-7 6-2
As Murray prepares for the second round in California, Jack Draper and Dan Evans are heading to Florida to prepare for Miami after they lost their opening round matches. Draper looked comfortable in the opening set but produced too many errors against Christopher O’Connell to lose in three sets.
Meanwhile Evans didn’t produce his best tennis for most of the match as an impressive second set couldn’t stop him from losing the first and third sets in comfortable fashion to Roman Safiullin.
Both players will now play the second Masters 1000 of the year in Miami which will take place on the 20th of March.
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