Can Murray Do The Business Over Muller?

Andy Murray will be looking to capture his first ATP tournament of the year by securing the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships in the United Arab Emirates. He will kick off his campaign tomorrow morning (12:00) with a match against Luxembourg star Gilles Muller.

Murray`s best ever finish in this tournament was in 2012 when he finished runner-up to Roger Federer, that encounter ending 7-5, 6-4 to the Swiss player. The Scot has failed to show in the tournament in the last two years whilst this will be the first time that Muller has appeared in the UAE event.

The two men have met on two previous occasions in ATP tournaments, Murray holding a 2-0 record over the player four years his senior. Advantageously for this match on hard, both of these last two encounters have been fought out on hard court surfaces though both occurred back in 2011 and 2012 respectively.

Such positive form over the 31-year-old means that Murray is the 1/7 favourite with boylesports to progress through to the competition`s second round. Muller is a 6/1 shot with sportingbet.

In 2011, Murray hosted Muller on home soil in a round robin concerning a series of ties between Great Britain and Luxembourg. It was a match that the 6`3" Scot won with ease, recording a 6-4, 6-3, 6-1 straight sets victory. The world number three, and third seed in this competition, can be supported at odds of 4/9 to take the match without dropping a set. This price can be picked up at paddy Power, Sports Winner, Stan James and Titan Bet.

This outcome was in contrast to the pair`s second meeting in Brisbane in 2012, the favourite for the clash having to come from behind to put Muller to the sword. The 35 ranked player claimed the first set 6-4 before losing the second set to a tie-break. The disappointment of just failing to secure a straight sets win saw Muller fail to win a game in the decider.

Both ladbrokes and sportingbet have the best price on a similar state of affairs being played out tomorrow morning. Eleven-to-two with both bookmakers says that the 27-year-old will have to bounce back from losing out in the opening exchanges to claim the match.

Indeed, Coral are offering odds of 3/1 on there being a second set tie-break for the second time in succession between the two men. Whilst no odds are currently available on either of the men winning a set with a bagel victory, it could be worth looking out for any changes in this market.

Murray won by a margin of 10 games in the pair`s first tie in 2011. paddy Power have odds of 30/1 on the two men being separated by 10 or more games in tomorrow`s encounter. In Brisbane, the victor ruled supreme by a difference of six games, and 4/1 with the same bookmaker says that this will be the difference between the players.

Alternatively, paddy power have 4/7 on the men being separated by any number of games between five and nine whilst 10/11 says they will be split by either five, six or seven games.

Tomorrow`s favourite has only featured in one tournament since losing out to Novak Djokovic in the final of the Australian Open this year, the fourth time he has finished runner-up in this competition. This was in Rotterdam where he could only manage a quarter-final finish, losing in straight sets to France`s Gilles Simon (6-4, 6-2). Simon would go on to win the Open 13 title in his home country.

Muller has found himself in five tournaments in 2015. He lost out in straight sets to the eventual Australian Open winner in the quarter-finals of that competition, though had previously reached the semi-finals of the Sydney Open.

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23/02/2015     © Frixo 2024