Internazionali BNL d’Italia: Andy Murray vs. Florian Mayer – Quarter-final Preview
Friday noon at Foro Italico in Rome, Italy, will kick off with the quarter-final clash of the world number four Andy Murray of the Great Britain and the 28thranked German, Florian Mayer in the Internazionali BNL d’Italia. The contest is anticipated to be an intense one as the two quality tennis players encounter each other to fight for a place in the semi-final of the ATP (Association of Tennis Professionals) World Tour 1000 tournament.
The fourth seeded Briton is no doubt one of the hot favourites for the Rome title but he is yet to accomplish two more wins before getting a title shot in the final of the event. Murray has seen many ups and downs this season though on paper he looks superb since he has won 11 of the 17 matches he played. He got into the spot light when he reached the final of the first Grand Slam of the year, the Australian Open, in January but unfortunately lose to the world number two, Novak Djokovic. Suffering a mental block since the final, Murray suffered early round exits in the events that followed. It wasn’t until Monte Carlo that Murray was able to climb back up as he made it to the semi-finals before losing to eventual champion, Rafael Nadal. Murray is yet to win an ATP title this year and is determined to enter the winners’ circle by winning the Masters 1000 championship at Rome.
The Briton received a bye to the second round at Internazionali BNL d’Italia, where he won the three-setter 6-2, 2-6, 6-3, against Xavier Malisse of Germany. Murray displayed top form as he met and defeated Potito Starace of Italy 6-2, 6-3, in the third round to make it to the quarter-final of the tournament.
The other competitor, Florian Mayer has been in magnificent form throughout the tournament at Rome. He outplayed the Argentine opponent, Juan Ignacio Chela 7-5, 6-4, in the third round encounter to make it to the quarter-final of Internazionali BNL d’Italia. Mayer hasn’t dropped a set in the tournament yet, as he has won two of his matches in straight sets. His second round clash against the eighth seed Jurgen Melzer ended after he won the opening set and his competitor forfeited form the game due to a back strain injury. Mayer’s recent form is quite impressive and he surely is willing to carry it along in the matchup against Murray.
Murray and Mayer haven’t played against each other before and their competition in the quarter-final at Rome is their first meeting. The German has already registered 21 wins in the running ATP season, which are almost twice as much as Murray’s victories this year. The 27-year-old Mayer is playing his best tennis ever, reaching his career highest world ranking of 28 this season. It has qualified for his six ATP World Tour quarter-finals and he is also title less this season, like Murray. The German’s recent form depicts that he might come up with a major upset in the round of eight by defeating the world number four but Mayer is playing in the quarter-final of a Masters 1000 event for the first time, which might bring some pressure upon him. The anxiety of competing against the fourth best player in the world is always taxing and Mayer might crumble under it.
The quarter-final contest it evenly poised but it must be said that being a fourth ranked player in the world, Murray certainly is the hot favourite for winning the match on Friday noon.
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