Preview: Andy Murray vs. Michael Berrer – French Open 2011
World number four, Andy Murray of Great Britain, takes on the 95th ranked German, Michael Berrer in the third round of Roland Garros in Paris, France, on Saturday. The highly anticipated contest will take place on the clay-court of the Court Suzanne Lenglen, with the both men battling out for getting into the final 16.
Murray is considered to be one of the strongest competitors for winning the French Open this time round, as he is in a brilliant form. The Briton had a brilliant start to Roland Garros, winning his opening round clash assertively against the local qualifier, Eric Prodon in straight sets. Murray then took down Simone Bolelli, the lucky loser from Italy, in the second round to meet Berrer in the third.
The unseeded German competitor took off the tournament with his surprise victory over the in-form Canadian, Milos Raonic, in the opening round and then carried on his momentum to dispense out the local boy, Arnaud Clement, 7-6(8)3-6, 7-5, 6-4, to make it to the third round of the Grand Slam event.
The fourth seed Murray has won 13 matches so far in the running ATP (Association of Tennis Professionals) season but is still to win a championship title. The Briton has reached the finals of Grand Slam tournaments on two different occasions but has never reached glory by winning the mega events. He got his second opportunity when he reached the final of the Australian Open this year but lost to the world number two, Novak Djokovic to carry on his dry run at the Grand Slams.
Murray’s second round victory over Bolelli didn’t exhibit the true class he possesses, as he had to labour a bit harder to outplay his opponent. He won the opener in a tie breaker round and then finished the contest in the third set at 7-5 to make it to the third round of the tournament. The Briton took a layoff from the pro tennis out of dejection, after his loss to Djokovic in the final of the Grand Slam Down Under and has been working very hard to get in his rhythm. Although Murray is title less this year, it appears a perfect opportunity for the Briton to bounce back in the winners’ circle by bagging his first grand Slam title in Paris.
It is the first time that Berrer is facing the fourth seed Murray in a singles matchup for a chance to book a berth in the fourth round of the Grand Slam event. The winner of 16 ATP titles, Murray, is certainly one of the toughest competitors to beat and it will take something extraordinary for Berrer to take down such a strong competitor.
The German has not been in his sublime form recently and is having a win-loss ratio of 8-8 this season so far. However, Berrer can be very lethal on his day and has got all the capabilities to produce an upset against any top class player. It will be a tough competition among the two men but Murray is the hot favourite to come out as the winner.
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