Top two seeds David Ferrer and Andy Murray will contest their opening matches of the week on Thursday in Shenzhen. They are set for respective meetings with Viktor Troicki and Somdev Devvarman.
(1) David Ferrer vs. (Q) Viktor Troicki
Ferrer and Troicki will be facing each other for the fourth time in their careers when they collide in round two of the Shenzhen Open on Thursday. All three previous encounters have gone Ferrer’s way, but they have not met since 2011. The Spaniard dominated their only hard-court showdown 6-3, 6-0 at the 2009 Rogers Cup before most recently scoring a 6-3, 6-3 victory three years ago on the clay of Monte-Carlo.
Troicki bagged his third ATP-level victory since returning from a one-year suspension when he got a third-set retirement from Martin Klizan on Tuesday. The Serb has been cleaning up for the most part on the Challenger circuit and is already up to No. 174 in the world. Ferrer, however, is a steep climb in competition level for Troicki. The top seed has not been at his very best throughout the 2014 campaign, but his 44-17 record still has him in position for another World Tour Finals berth..
Pick: Ferrer in 2
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Somdev Devvarman vs. (2) Andy Murray
Murray and Devvarman will be going head-to-head for the second time in their careers when they square off on Thursday. Their only previous meeting came in round one of the 2011 U.S. Open, a match won by Murray 7-6(5), 6-2, 6-3. The 11th-ranked Scot needs a strong finish to what has been a tough 2014 campaign if he wants to qualify for London. He managed to pick up some momentum in New York, where he reached the quarterfinals before succumbing to Novak Djokovic in four sets.
Devvarman is struggling mightily down at No. 141 in the world. India’s top player, though, also has reason to be confident at the moment. He pulled off a huge Davis Cup singles win two weeks ago, upsetting Dusan Lajovic 1-6, 6-4, 4-6, 6-3, 6-2 to force a fifth rubber (India still lost to Serbia). Devvarman benefited from a favorable Shenzhen draw by getting past Chinese wild card Xin Gao 6-3, 4-6, 6-4 in the first round. This, however, is a great matchup for Murray because the underdog has no offensive weapons with which to hit through his opponent.
Pick: Murray in 2 losing 5-7 games
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Ferrer and Murray both in 2