By Tony Fairbairn
- Andy Murray def Christopher O’Connell [Q] 6-4 6-3
- Murray v Alexander Bublik [7] | H2H: Murray leads 2-1
STUTTGART, GERMANY – Andy Murray reached the second round in Stuttgart with a straight sets win over Christopher O’Connell to set up a meeting with Alexander Bublik.
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Andy Murray def Christopher O’Connell [Q] 6-4 6-3
Andy Murray reached the second round in Stuttgart with a straight sets win over Australian qualifier Christopher O’Connell. The Brit didn’t have it all his own way as O’Connell made a great start to the match on his favourite surface as a deep return on break point secured an early 2-0 lead.
O’Connell continued his aggressive start on serve as he was executing his first serves and mixing up his tactics with some serve and volley. A frustrating start from Murray who is looking at his most crucial part of the season but like all great champions, Murray responded in fine fashion. Murray found his rhythm and struck back immediately as he forced O’Connell into some erratic errors as the set was level at 3-3.
Murray reinforced his intensity as he made his frustrations known to his coaching team but that seemed to fire up the three-time grand slam champion as he broke again with a deep return. O’Connell couldn’t find a consistent level to match Murray’s high quality baseline game and despite holding couldn’t break the Brit’s serve as the former world number one took the opening set 6-4.
The second set was no different in terms of Murray’s ability to dominate the points as a fine volley into the open court secured the break at 2-1. The Brit found his grove on serve as he was too aggressive for the Australian and that confidence showed with his depth especially on break point down as he resisted late pressure from O’Connell.
Murray would break for a second time in the set as a missed smash from the Australian saw the Brit start his campaign in Stuttgart with a win and a place in the second round.
Andy Murray v Alexander Bublik [7] H2H & Match Fundamentals
| Andy Murray v Alexander Bublik [7] | H2H: Murray leads 2-1 |
| ATP Stuttgart | Stuttgart, Germany |
| Grass (O) | Prize Money: €12,150 |
| Third on Centre Couty, not before 2pm (1pm BST). | TennisTV <- Subscription Required |
Murray will take on the eccentric Alexander Bublik in the second round with the Kazakh entering his favourite time of year.
Tale of the Tape – Key Stats (2022)
| H2H: | Andy Murray (WR 68) | Alexander Bublik (WR 42) |
| Tournament Previous Best | N/A | QR2 (2017, 2019) |
| 1st Serve % | 59.1 | 57.9 |
| Service Games Won % | 81.2 | 78.4 |
| Break Points Saved % | 57.9 | 63.5 |
| 2nd Serve Return Points Won % | 54 | 43.5 |
| Break Points Converted % | 34.2 | 35.3 |
Both players are well-matched heading into this clash but break points will be key in this match especially given Bublik’s higher win percentage on both saving and converting break points.
Playing styles and prediction
After repeating over the last couple of months how much he hates clay, Bublik will be very happy to now turn his attention to his favourite surface. The Kazakh’s unpredictable game style mixed with big serve is a danger for any player on this surface and he proved this in his opening match by beating grass-court specialist Denis Kudla and will look to make a major statement of intent this week.
This will be a test of Murray’s Wimbledon aspirations and will need to serve well as well as continue with his returning consistency. If the Brit can dictate the tempo of the match than the match should be his but the trouble is against someone like Bublik that can be out of his control. Bublik heads into this match slight favourite but if Murray plays his best than this match could go all the way.
Prediction: Bublik in three sets.
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