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Andy Murray continues his hunt for a first French Open when he takes on the powerful Amercian John Isner in the fourth round. Join The Roar for live scores from around 10:30pm (AEST).
Murray has really struggled for form so far in the Open, although seemed to bounce back in the third round. Both of his first two rounds saw him struggle to build any momentum and were pushed to five sets, before he bounced back with a straight sets win.
Against Radek Stepanek in the first round he was down two sets to nothing and in some serious trouble, but managed to bounce back winning 3-6, 3-6, 6-0, 6-3, 7-5. He then bungled a set lead against Mathias Bourgue with a 6-2, 2-6, 4-6, 6-2, 6-3 victory.
His perofmance against Ivo Karlovic though was a much stronger one, winning 6-1, 6-4, 7-6. He finally managed to find his rhythm, holding serve strongly and managing to fight against Karlovic.
There is no question though he will have to continue to improve performance if he is to beat Isner.
Isner, on the other hand has had a similarly tough run, defeating Australian John Millman 6-7, 7-6, 7-6, 7-5 in the first round with three of the four sets ending in tie-breakers. After a dominant straight sets win against Kyle Edmund he came up against Teimuraz Gabashvili taking five sets to get the job done.
The clay court doesn’t really suit Isner’s powerful, explosive style and for that reason Murray would be hopeful of wearing him down, breaking the resolve of Isner serve after serve. If Isner can’t get his first serve in then it could be over quickly.
The pair have played on six previous occasions, with Murray winning all six. However, apart from the first two he hasn’t won in straight sets and has been pushed hard by Isner.
They have also never played on clay, but have met twice in a grand slam. These meetings came back in 2010 at the Australian Open where Murray did win in straight sets, before they met in the quarter finals of the 2011 US Open and Murray won in four sets.
Their most recent meeting was last year in Shanghai as Isner won the first set before losing the next two 6-4, 6-4, but again fighting all the way to the end.
Prediction
Isner has proven on more than a few occasions throughout his career that he is a fighter – for that reason it won’t be easy for Murray but he should get the job done.
Murray in five sets.
Be sure to join The Roar for live scores of this match from around 10:30pm (AEST) or following the Irina-Camelia Begu vs Shelby Rogers match on the Suzzane Lenglen Court and don’t forget to add your own comments in the section below.
Follow Scott on Twitter @sk_pryde