Tennis
2009-06-25 - Andy Murray vs Ernests Gulbis
A Sports Betting Pick by Auls
Tennis: England, Wimbledon Men
Thursday 25th June 2009 - Start 16:30
Andy Murray
Andy Murray had a surprisingly tough 1st round encounter against Robert Kendrick which ended up being a victory in 4 sets for the British Number 1.
Murray served at 58% first serves and won 74% of the points behind his serve. He only allowed 2 break point chances in the match and only dropped serve on 1 occasion.
Murray returned well but did not play to the high standard that he has set for himself. He won 35% of the points off the Kendrick serve and broke serve 4 times from the 8 break point opportunities he created.
The Scot managed to hit 32 winners and made 19 unforced errors in the match.
Ernests Gulbis
After a strong season last year, Ernests Gulbis has taken a step back this season and has dropped down to 74 in the rankings. This season Gulbis has gone 10-16.
Gulbis only played 1 warm up tournament in preparation for Wimbledon but surprisingly lost in straight sets to Alberto Martin. Last year, Gulbis played Nadal at this stage of the competition and took the Spaniard to 4 sets before succumbing.
The Latvian beat Riccardo Ghedin in round 1 this year in straight sets. He served 56% first serves and won 71% of the points behind his serve. Gulbis only gave up his serve once and only allowed 2 break point chances in the 3 sets.
Gulbis also dominated his opponent's serve, winnin 48% of the points and breaking 5 times from the 6 opportunities he was given. Gulbis hit 30 winners but also made 29 unforced errors.
Head to Head
This is going to be the third meeting between the 2 players with Murray currently leading 2-0.
They met on an indoor court at the back end of last season when Murray won comfortably 6-4, 6-2.
Gulbis also played Murray on a grass court last season and took the first set 7-5. However Murray fought back to take the next 2 sets 6-1, 6-4 to progress at Queens.
Prediction
Andy Murray will look to improve his first serve percentage for this match but will be confident to progress at this tournament against a player lacking in confidence. He has won 4 sets in a row against Gulbis and he has been serving well over the last 2 weeks to suggest it will remain hard to break him. Murray does need to put a little more juice on his 2nd serve though.
Ernests Gulbis has had a really poor year after many had expected him to go forward after his great run at the French Open last year. He will need to restrict his unforced errors if he is to challenge Murray here and will also have to serve more first serves than he did in his previous match here.
I was unsure if Murray could cover the handicap that had been set until I sat down to think about this match in more detail and how I think it will go. I have a feeling that one of the sets that are due to be playerd will be tight and possibly one that Gulbis can steal. However, Murray seems to have too much at the moment for a player that has struggled all season and is yet to progress beyond round 2 in any tournament this season.
I think Murray will go through 7-5, 6-3, 6-2
The Pick :
Andy Murray
BEST BETTING TIP :
Andy Murray -7.5 games 2.00 at Paddy Power
