TENNIS BETTING PREVIEW - FRENCH OPEN ROLAND GARROS - ANDY MURRAY VS JOHN ISNER

Tennis

2010-01-24 - Andy Murray vs John Isner

A Sports Betting Pick by Auls

Andy Murray v John Isner Betting Odds
Tennis: Australia, Australian Open Men 2010
Sunday 24th January 2010 - Kickoff 00:00

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Preview

Andy Murray reached the 4th round here at Melbourne Park for the second year in succession but will be confident he can progress further to the projected Quarter Final with Rafael Nadal.

The British Number 1 has moved through the first 3 rounds here without dropping a set as he disposed of Kevin Anderson, Marc Gicquel and Florent Serra with relative ease. Murray has surprised himself with the ease that he has managed to get through matches as his serve has not been up to scratch this week so far.

There seems to have been a concious change to his game so far this year at this Grand Slam and the shackles have been taken off his forehand while continuing the defensive play that has managed to get him as high as World Number 2. It was clear from last year that Murray could not afford to be overly passive, most clearly highlighted in defeats to Andy Roddick at Wimbledon and especially against Marin Cilic at the US Open.

John Isner, at 6 feet 9 inches, is one of the big servers that is on tour, but dont let that fool you- the American Number 3 can play off the ground, and while not as effective as the top 10 players, he can certainly be a threat.

The withdrawal of Gilles Simon at the beginning of the tournament pushed John Isner into the seeding places which shows his vast improvement in the 18 months since his breakthrough tournament in Washington.

This is his best performance in Australia by far, with 2 previous 1st round defeats to his name. He has had a longer route to this stage than Murray, having to beat Andreas Seppi in 5 sets in round 1 before shocking number 12 seed Gael Monfils in 4 sets in the last round. That was his 8th straiht win following on from his first tournament win in Auckland last week.

Isner will look to use his big weapon, the serve, to open up opportunities to use his forehand. He will have to serve effectively against the returning abilities of Murray and will need to play the big points well as I can see a tie breaker or 2 in this match.

Head to Head

These 2 meet for the first time.

Prediction

Andy Murray has the tools to beat Isner here, but will really like to improve his serve before the bigger challenges in the 2nd week of this tournament. He still can throw a poor game in on serve, and this could prove costly against a tough opponent.

John Isner is supremely confident and really does fancy his chances to get through to the next stage although this is a tough assignment for his with the Scotsman having the exact game to make it difficult. He has beating a big name at Grand Slam level before (Andy Roddick last year at the US Open) so has the experience to deal with these types of matches.

I can see this match being close in stages, and while fully expecting Andy Murray to go through, I think Isner can take a set.

Andy Murray 6-4, 6-7, 7-6, 6-2

The Pick :

BEST BETTING TIP :

Andy Murray WIN