By Tony Fairbairn
- Andy Murray [WC] def Dominic Thiem [PR] 6-3 6-4
- Murray v Denis Shapovalov [14] | H2H: Shapovalov leads 1-0
MADRID, SPAIN – Andy Murray tamed an out of sorts Dominic Thiem to reach the second round in Madrid where he will face 14th seed Denis Shapovalov.
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Andy Murray [WC] def Dominic Thiem 6-3 6-4
It was a successful clay court return for Andy Murray in Madrid after the former champion defeated an inconsistent Dominic Thiem in Madrid. Murray targeted the Thiem forehand early on in the match with the Austrian’s forehand being hit and miss since his wrist injury.
The former finalist held his own for a good part of the early stages of the match before Murray went into overdrive on serve and return as he dominated the baseline to surge into a 5-2 lead. Thiem provided the world number 78 with a stern test towards the end of the set as he started to find his range on the forehand. However Murray’s consistency saw him close out the opening set in 47 minutes.
A much more encouraging start was produced by the world number 91 in the second set as Thiem created a lot of angles with the forehand and constructed a lot more effective points. Despite an aggressive start from the Austrian, Murray held his own and was bold with his serving as he saved three break points in the second game.
That proved to be the crucial moment in the match as Murray would react with an aggressive third game as Thiem’s inconsistency once again showed. Murray broke for a 2-1 lead and never really let his concentration slip after that and despite Thiem’s resilience on serve, Murray served out the win.
Murray reassured Thiem after the match that ‘things take time but it will be fine’ at the net as the Austrian will enter Rome next week having dropped outside the world’s top 100 for the first time since 2014. As for Murray he has an intriguing second round to look forward to.
Andy Murray [WC] v Denis Shapovalov [14] H2H & Match Fundamentals
Andy Murray [WC] v Denis Shapovalov [14] | H2H: Shapovalov leads 1-0 |
Madrid Open | Madrid, Spain |
Clay (O) | Prize Money: €48,655 |
Fifth on Arantxa Sanchez Stadium (18:30 BST) | Amazon Prime Video <– Sign up for trial |
Murray now takes on 14th seed Denis Shapovalov in the second round with the Canadian playing his first tournament since exiting the Miami Open in the opening round.
Tale of the Tape – Key Stats (2022)
H2H: | Andy Murray (WR 78) | Denis Shapovalov (WR 16) |
Tournament Previous Best | Winner (2008, 2015) | SF (2018) |
1st Serve % | 59.1 | 61.1 |
Service Games Won % | 80.3 | 85.8 |
Break Points Saved % | 57.8 | 67.3 |
2nd Serve Return Points Won % | 53.5 | 48.2 |
Break Points Converted % | 34.1 | 35.8 |
Shapovalov’s confidence on serve shows in the statistics however Murray more than matches up to the Canadian on return.
Playing styles and prediction
Shapovalov has made a good start to the season with a quarter-final run at the Australian Open and a semi-final run in Dubai being the platform for that. However only one win in the US swing means the Canadian needs to wrestle back that momentum on clay. Last year Shapovalov proved he is capable of brilliant results on the clay after testing Rafael Nadal in Rome and a final in Geneva.
Shapovalov’s aggression will test Murray’s defensive capabilities especially on a much faster Arantxa Sanchez court. The Brit will need to serve well with accuracy and power as well as hoping that Shapovalov brings some inconsistency to proceedings. This match will be the ultimate test to show whether the Brit is finally turning things around or if there is a long way to go ahead of Wimbledon in June.
Prediction: Shapovalov in three sets.
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