Andy Murray will be out for revenge when he battles Grigor Dimitrov tonight for a spot in the quarter finals of the 2015 Australian Open on Rod Laver Arena.
Join The Roar for live scores and a blog the match from around 8:30pm AEDT tonight.
At the Wimbledon Championships last year, in the quarter finals, Grigor Dimitrov stunned Andy Murray and the crowd to win in straight sets against the defending champion.
He would eventually finish Wimbledon as a semi-finalist, losing to Djokovic in 4 sets. Tonight, Andy Murray, will be looking to gain revenge on that defeat by beating him here in Australia
While they did face again, at the 2014 Paris Masters in the round of 16, this match is more significant than that match. Murray won that battle in straight sets and will be hoping to repeat the result tonight.
So far, Murray has cruised into the fourth round. He hasn’t lost a set, and has only lost 26 games, in his first three matches. He has hardly been put under pressure by any of his opponents so far.
For Dimitrov his last two matches have been tough against Lukas Lacko and Marcos Baghdatis. After beating Dustin Brown in straight sets, in the opening round, he was pushed to four sets by Lacko after a loss in the third set tiebreaker.
He then got pushed to 5 sets by a resurgent Baghdatis, and just got home 6-3 in the final set. In that match, he struggled on serve, and hit more unforced errors than winners. Dimitrov hit 52 unforced errors, served 8 double faults, and hit just 7 aces.
He can’t do that tonight against Murray.
Against Murray at Wimbledon, Dimitrov served incredibly well. He served 10 aces and won 77% of his first serves in. Murray would only win 30% of points on Dimitrov’s serve. In return, Dimitrov attacked Murray’s second serve, and won 22 out of 32 points on it. While Murray did hit more winners in the match, with 37, his serve hurt him dearly in that match.
That’s the focus for tonight’s match.
Whoever serves better, and wins more second serve points, will come out on top tonight.
Both players also have strong forehands, with each winning 8% of their points in the tournament, with forehand winners.
The player who can get more winners from the forehand will be the favourite to take out the match.
This promises to be a close match. In four of the six matches between the two, a tiebreaker has been played in those contests. Murray leads the head to head 4-2 with Dimitrov winning two of the last three contests.
With the form Murray is in, in this tournament, I lean towards him tonight. He has hardly been challenged and played some great tennis in the first three rounds.
On the other hand, Dimitrov has struggled to find the form of 2014, so far in 2015. If he plays like that tonight then Murray will win.
This promises to be a cracking match that could go to 5 sets. I predict a Murray win in 4 or 5 sets.
PREDICTION – Andy Murray 3-2
Shane Jones
Roar Guru
Full review and comments to come shortly.
Shane Jones
Roar Guru
MATCH STATS - Aces - Murray 10 Dimitrov 4 Double Faults - Murray 4 Dimitrov 3 1st Serve % - Murray 67% Dimitrov 69% 1st Serve Points won - Murray 70/91 Dimitrov 71/106 2nd serve points won - Murray 18/45 Dimitrov 16/47 Break Points - Murray 7/19 Dimitrov 4/8 Winners - Murray 42 Dimitrov 46 Unforced Errors - Murray 35 Dimitrov 51
Shane Jones
Roar Guru
And that's an unfortunate way to end the match. Murray hits a forehand, it clips the net, and just goes over. Andy Murray wins after 3 hours and 32 minutes. That was a marathon match. MURRAY 6 6 6 7 DIMITROV 4 7 3 5
Shane Jones
Roar Guru
A 1st serve is not returned by Dimitrov. One match point. 40-30.
Shane Jones
Roar Guru
A forehand from Murray goes into the net. We'll either have a match point or a break point. 30-30.
Shane Jones
Roar Guru
Shot by Dimitrov. He hits a forehand cross court winner. Can he lift one more time? 30-15.
Shane Jones
Roar Guru
A serve is returned into the net from Dimitrov. 30-0.
Shane Jones
Roar Guru
A forehand goes into the net from Dimitrov. 15-0 to Murray.
Shane Jones
Roar Guru
Murray hits a return winner down the line. Dimitrov then smashes his racquet on the court. It is obliterated. Murray will now serve for the match. MURRAY 6 6 6 6 DIMITROV 4 7 3 5
Shane Jones
Roar Guru
0-40 for Murray. What a turnaround.
Shane Jones
Roar Guru
Dimitrov hits a good first serve but it is called a fault by the linesman. He has to replay the point. He then hits a forehand long on the replayed point. 0-30.
Shane Jones
Roar Guru
Murray wins the first point. 0-15. This is starting to become dangerous for Dimitrov.
Shane Jones
Roar Guru
Murray holds. 5 games all in the fourth set. MURRAY 6 6 6 5 DIMITROV 4 7 3 5
Shane Jones
Roar Guru
A backhand down the line from Dimitrov beats Murray. 40-30.
Shane Jones
Roar Guru
Oh what a volley at the net from Murray. He turns his back, swings his racquet, and land the ball back in the court. 40-15.
Shane Jones
Roar Guru
Murray returns the favour with a long forehand. 15-15.
Shane Jones
Roar Guru
A slice from Dimitrov goes long. 15-0.
Shane Jones
Roar Guru
Murray breaks. As I said, the set ain't over, until it is over. A backhand goes long from Dimitrov. 5-4 to Dimitrov in the 4th set. He has now been broken in each set. MURRAY 6 6 6 4 DIMITROV 4 7 3 5
Shane Jones
Roar Guru
The first one is saved. 30-40.
Shane Jones
Roar Guru
A forehand from Dimitrov goes wide. He gives Murray a gift and two break points. 15-40.