By Tony Fairbairn at Wimbledon
- Andy Murray def Ryan Peniston [WC] 6-3 6-0 6-1
- Murray v Stefanos Tsitsipas [5] | H2H: Tied at 1-1
LONDON, ENGLAND – Andy Murray thrashed compatriot Ryan Peniston in straight sets to set up a blockbuster second round clash with Stefanos Tsitsipas.
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Andy Murray def Ryan Peniston [WC] 6-3 6-0 6-1
Andy Murray cruised into the second round at the expense of British wildcard Ryan Peniston as the two-time champion only dropped four games. Although the victory was comfortable, Murray made a difficult start to the match as Peniston played with nothing to lose and produced aggressive returns to trouble the former champion.
The British wildcard created two break points in the early stages but some overcooked forehand returns saw the chance go begging for Peniston. When facing the best players in the world, you have to take your chances and that is a lesson Peniston would learn the hard way as Murray converted his second break point opportunity in the sixth game for a 4-2 lead.
The former world number one was much more aggressive for the rest of the match as he closed out the opening set 6-3 in 47 minutes. In the next two sets Murray would be dominant on return, being proactive and moving to the net with Peniston failing to have any control of the destiny of the match.
There were a few moments that saw the crowd cheer at Peniston’s brilliance but that was a very rare occasion. Murray only dropped one game as he crushed the British wildcard and booked a place in the second round.
After the match Murray admitted not everything went to plan but was very pleased with the overall outcome.
“I didn’t start the match how I would have liked. It’s always different conditions playing under the roof,” Murray said in his press conference.
“Especially when you consider last few days have been quite cool, pretty breezy outdoors, then playing in those conditions is a bit different. But yeah, as the match went on, unforced errors, I cut them out. I was pretty ruthless at the beginning of the second and third sets. There was no sort of dip in intensity or anything. I got ahead early in those sets, did well. So, yeah, I was pleased with everything, apart from the beginning.”
Andy Murray v Stefanos Tsitsipas [5] H2H & Match Fundamentals
| Andy Murray v Stefanos Tsitsipas [5] | H2H: Tied at 1-1 |
| Wimbledon 2023 | London, England |
| Grass (O) | Prize Money: £85,000 |
| Third on Centre Court (17:30 BST) | BBC Sport |
Murray’s next challenge is fifth seed Stefanos Tsitsipas who defeated Dominic Thiem in a fifth set tiebreak in the previous round.
Tale of the Tape – Key Stats (2023 – Grass)
| H2H: | Andy Murray (WR 40) | Stefanos Tsitsipas (WR 5) |
| Tournament Previous Best | Champion (2013, 2016) | R4 (2018) |
| 1st Serve % | 59.2 | 63.1 |
| Service Games Won % | 78.9 | 88.1 |
| Break Points Saved % | 60 | 75 |
| 2nd Serve Return Points Won % | 55.8 | 42.1 |
| Break Points Converted % | 43.8 | 26.1 |
Murray’s returning efficiency gives him a big advantage over an out-of-sorts Tsitsipas who can be consistent on serve.
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Playing styles and prediction
Tsitsipas has struggled for form recently with grass traditionally being a disappointing surface for the fifth seed. However the Greek’s serve and net skills will put him in a good position if he can build confidence and momentum throughout the tournament as he looks for a place in the third round.
Murray will look to continue his aggressiveness on serve as he aims to step in the court and take the match to Tsitsipas. Tsitsipas will look to neutralise Murray’s return with depth and accurate serving as he looks to take the options away from Murray with the wide serve. A lot will depend how fresh Tsitsipas is with such a short recovery time but in any case Murray should have too much consistency and quality for the world number five.
Prediction: Murray in four sets.
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