Andy Murray will be hoping to maintain momentum from his brilliant 2016 campaign when he opens in Doha on Tuesday against Jeremy Chardy. Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and Andrey Kuznetsov are also aiming for a place in the last 16.
(1) Andy Murray vs. Jeremy Chardy
Murray and Chardy will be facing each other for the 10th time in their careers when they clash in round one of the Qatar ExxonMobil Open on Tuesday. The head-to-head series stands at 8-1 in favor of Murray, who has won four matches in a row at Chardy’s expense since enduring a straight-set loss at the 2012 Cincinnati Masters. They most recently squared off last spring in Rome, where Murray cruised 6-0, 6-4.
The top-ranked Scot went on to take the title in Rome, just as he did at eight of his last 10 tournaments in 2016–including Wimbledon, the Olympics, and the World Tour Finals. Murray ended the season on a 24-match winning streak. This week’s No. 1 seed warmed up for the 2017 campaign last week in Abu Dhabi, where he fell to David Goffin before bagging third place with a win over Milos Raonic. Chardy is coming off a year in which he compiled a 17-21 ATP-level record and went back to the Challenger circuit following the U.S. Open. In three Challenger appearances last fall, the 69th-ranked Frenchman went 5-3 with no final appearances. All signs point to this contest being a mismatch.
Pick: Murray in 2 losing 8 games or fewer
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Andrey Kuznetsov vs. (5) Jo-Wilfried Tsonga
Tsonga and Kuznetsov will be going head-to-head for the second time in their careers on Tuesday. Their only previous meeting came at the 2012 French Open, where Tsonga got the job done 1-6, 6-3, 6-2, 6-4. The 12th-ranked Frenchman is coming off a year in which he flirted with World Tour Finals qualification, but he could not overcome a relatively slow start. Among Tsonga’s second-half results were a quarterfinal showing at Wimbledon, a quarterfinal run at the U.S. Open, another quarterfinal finish in Shanghai, a runner-up in Vienna, and a quarterfinal showing in Paris.
Kuznetsov made some noise at this Doha event last season, when he reached the quarters and tested Rafael Nadal in a competitive 6-3, 5-7, 6-4 loss. The 25-year-old Russian compiled a respectable 29-21 record in 2016, but he will miss out on an Australian Open seed with a current ranking of 46th in the world. Kuznetsov failed to advance past the second round at any of his four fall-swing tournaments. Tsonga, who should benefit from some recent match practice in Abu Dhabi (lost to Goffin, beat Tomas Berdych), will likely have too much firepower for Kuznetsov.
Pick: Tsonga in 2
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who ya got?
Murray in two losing eight games or fewer and Tsonga in two
Andy in 2. Tsonga in 3. I’m expecting rust.
Murray in 2. Tsonga in 2.
Murray in 2. Tsonga in 2.
At least the 2nd set of Murray vs. Chardy was more competitive and entertaining. I was literally falling asleep in my chair during the first (Chardy got bageled). So those of us who said Andy would win in 2 sets, losing 8 games or fewer were right on!