An all-seeded semifinal lineup is in the cards for Queen’s Club on Saturday. It includes No. 1 seed and crowd favorite Andy Murray, who is set to face Marin Cilic. Michael Sands previews the action.
Andy Murray and Marin Cilic will be squaring off for the sixth time in their careers when they battle for a spot in the AEGON Championships title match on Saturday. Murray is dominating the head-to-head series 10-2, including 2-0 on grass. They also faced each other at Queen’s Club in 2013, when the Scot prevailed 5-7, 7-5, 6-3 to capture the title.
Grass is, however, conducive to Cilic’s booming serve. So far on grass this season, the 13th-ranked Croat has managed to win 82 percent of his first-serve points. It will be interesting to see if Cilic can maintain those serving statistics against one of the best returners in the game, even on a fast-playing grass court. Murray is winning right around 37 percent of his return points on the green stuff in 2016 (by comparison, Cilic is winning 33 percent). It is also worth noting that both players save break points at a nice rate; Murray at 70 percent this year and Cilic at 72 percent.
Murray’s extremely quick hand speed allows him to take way his opponents’ ability to jam him with big serves into the body. The top seed’s world-class ability to read directions of serves in order gain a head start on the ball should be enough to limit the damage Cilic is capable of inflicting.
Furthermore, while the impact of home-court advantage is often overstated, this tournament and its fans only serve to provide a boost for Murray in times of need.
Pick: Murray in 3
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Murray in two