Even though Tomas Martin Etcheverry arrived on tour when Andy Murray was seemingly on the verge on retirement, they have already faced each other three times and will add another meeting on Friday at the Miami Open.
Etcheverry leads the head-to-head series 2-1 after dominating their most recent encounter 6-4, 6-2, 6-2 at this year’s Australian Open. That gave the Argentine two wins in a row (also in three sets on the indoor hard courts of Basel this past fall) after Murray had prevailed in a 6-7(5), 6-1, 6-4 marathon at the 2023 Indian Wells Masters.
Despite the fact that their first-round showdown at Melbourne Park was just two months ago, all signs point to this one being much different. Etcheverry has won only three matches since leaving Melbourne–all on the Golden Swing (one in Cordoba and two in Buenos Aires). The world No. 30 retired from his Buenos Aires quarterfinal contest because of an ankle injury, missed the remaining February clay-court events, and was forced to withdraw from Indian Wells.
Murray hasn’t exactly taken flight since the Aussie Open, but he has at least been winning enough to maintain some amount of confidence. The 36-year-old Scot has advanced one round in four consecutive tournaments after beating Matteo Berrettini 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 during first-round action in Miami on Wednesday.
The surface favors Murray and Etcheverry is a major question mark since he has not played since his Buenos Aires retirement, so the former world No. 1 should have a considerable advantage.
Pick: Murray in 2
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Sir Andy in 2