Internazionali BNL d’Italia: Novak Djokovic vs. Andy Murray – Semi-final Preview
It is the 2011 Australian Open final rematch taking place in Rome, Italy, as world number two Novak Djokovic of Serbia takes on the fourth ranked Andy Murray of the Great Britain in the semi-final of the Internazionali BNL d’Italia
on Saturday night.
The most awaited matchup will be played at the Foro Italico, with the winner getting an opportunity to have a shot at the ATP (Association of Tennis Professionals) World Tour 1000 championship title in the final.
The clash of the tennis titans in the semi-final is regarded as the biggest match in the running tournament. The anxiousness of tennis fans all around the world is at its peak as they wait to see two of the top ranked players battle
it out for supremacy in the Masters 1000 event. The mighty Serb is running his finest form ever, reaching his career best ranking of world number two this year and inching toward the top of the ATP rankings.
Djokovic is unbeaten in the current season, winning 35 consecutive matches in the running year. The Serb has already won six ATP titles so far, including the Grand Slam of Asia/Pacific, the Australian Open. His superb form makes
him the hot favourite for winning the contest against the Brit and then go on to clinch the title here..
23-year-old Djokovic has won every single tournament he has taken part this year, while defeating the world number one Rafael Nadal in the finals three times. The Serb is deemed to be unplayable these days and is determined to
extend his winning streak by winning the Internazionali BNL d’Italia. He has got the second best start to an ATP season after the legendary John McEnroe, who won 42 consecutive matches way back in 1984 and the Serb is certainly eyeing to reach that landmark.
He disposed off the world number five, Robin Soderling of Sweden 6-3, 6-0, in the quarter-final to reach the round of four in Rome.
The British competitor, Murray, is toiling hard to get back his flare in the game. He had a golden opportunity to bag his first ever Grand Slam tournament at the Australian Open but was denied by the sheer brilliance of Djokovic
in the final. Murray has appeared to have a mental block after suffering defeat in the Australian Open final and has been straining to get back his form since then. He hasn’t been much successful in the ATP events this year, facing early exits from most of
the tournaments he has taken part in. The Briton recently suffered a semi-final loss at the hands of the world number one Nadal at Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters two weeks ago and is yet to bag an ATP title in the year.
Djokovic leads the head-to-head series against Murray by 5-3 and with his ballistic form these days, it looks quite evident that the Serb will extend his lead by winning the semi-final matchup on Saturday. It is a perfect time
for Murray to avenge his Australian Open defeat but he has to come up with something extraordinary to break the amazing winning streak of the Serb opponent in the semi-final of the Internazionali BNL d’Italia. On paper, it looks like it is Djokovic’s game
but Murray is capable of turning the table on any top class player on his day.
Tags: