Andy Murray will continue his bid for a third Wimbledon title when he takes the court against Benoit Paire on the second Monday. A quarterfinal spot will also be at stake when Sam Querrey faces Kevin Anderson.
(1) Andy Murray vs. Benoit Paire
Murray and Paire will be going head-to-head for just the second time in their careers when they clash in round four of Wimbledon on Monday. Their only previous meeting came last spring on the clay courts of Monte-Carlo, where Murray prevailed 2-6, 7-5, 7-5. Shortly thereafter, the Scot went on a torrid end-of-season run that included a title at the All-England Club and another triumph in London (World Tour Finals) that propelled him to year-end No. 1 for the first time in his career. It has been slower going in 2017 for Murray, but he is still clinging to the top spot in the rankings and he is 8-1 in his last nine matches dating back to the start of the French Open (a semifinal showing there followed by Wimbledon wins over Alexander Bublik, Dustin Brown, and Fabio Fognini).
After two previous third-round losses in SW19, Paire got over the hump and into the second week for the first time by beating Jerzy Janowicz 6-2, 7-6(3), 6-3 on Friday. The 46th-ranked Frenchman preceded that result with similarly routine defeats of Rogerio Dutra Silva and compatriot Pierre-Hugues Herbert. Paire’s talent–and especially his backhand–is undeniable, but he has never put it all together against the Big 4 (0-8 lifetime). A seemingly healthy and confident Murray will likely drop Paire to 0-9 in his career against the world’s best.
Pick: Murray in 3
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(24) Sam Querrey vs. Kevin Anderson
Nobody in recent Wimbledon history has played a higher percentage of five-set matches than Querrey, and he was up to his old tricks during third-round action on Friday and Saturday. The 6’6” American contested his seventh five-setter at the All-England Club and second against Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, avenging a 14-12 loss in 2014 by prevailing 6-2, 3-6, 7-6(5), 1-6, 7-5. It was stopped due to darkness with Querrey leading 6-5 and he broke serve right away to seal the deal quickly one day later. The world No. 28 previously picked up more routine victories over Thomas Fabbiano and Nikoloz Basilashvili.
Up next for Querrey on Monday is a 13th career contest against Anderson, who trails a competitive head-to-head series 7-5. The two big-serving veterans have faced each other only once on grass, with Querrey getting the job done 7-5, 6-3 eight years ago at Queen’s Club. They have not squared off since 2015, when Anderson came out on top 6-7(5), 7-6(3), 6-4 at the Miami Masters. The 6’8” South African has missed a ton of time since then with various physical problems, but he is back up to No. 42 in the world and could return to the top 30 if he defeats Querrey. Anderson is 16-11 this season with a fourth-round performance at the French Open. He is through to the same stage of Wimbledon thanks to wins over Fernando Verdasco, Andreas Seppi and Ruben Bemelmans, and he has won nine consecutive sets since dropping his opener to Verdasco. Querrey failed to build on his big Wimbledon upset of Novak Djokovic in 2016 and he may be unable to maintain momentum from his defeat of Tsonga, as Anderson has done well to come back from injury and it just feels like it his time to make another breakthrough.
Pick: Anderson in 5
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Murray in 3
He’ll be relieved he got through the Fognini a match which was probably worrying him when he saw the draw. I think he’ll loosen up a bit now and be confident against a player that wont appreciate he’s defensive style.
Anderson in 5.
There’s very little separating these two but the slight edge goes to Anderson. I think Anderson has beaten slightly better opponents also, excluding Tsonga who is arguably well below his best at the moment.
Murray in three and Querrey in five. Damn that Querrey Anderson match is a good one. That’s maybe the closest match to call in the round of 16. Should be an awesome encounter.
This is the toughest Wimbeldon in years IMO. All matches from now on are high quality.
Im really looking forward to Fed v Dimitrov, Raonic v Zverez, Cilic v RBA
Murray in 4
After two days off Andy might be slow out of the blocks. If so Paire might well take the first set.
Interesting to read Lendl’s take on Murray:
https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2017/jul/09/andy-murray-ivan-lendl-wimbledon
Paire is seeing it like a beach ball.
Paire is donating far too many free points to Murray with his addiction to drop shots. Murray is just biding his time waiting for the errors, as usual.
Murray is not playing well but Paire is being his usual unpredictable self. Paire is giving away this set.
Paire saved it with some great serving.
5-5
TB to decide the first set.
If you blinked then you missed that TB. Paire really is a waste at times like this. Murray up a break in the second set. He lucked out getting Paire, because the way he’s playing someone decent could have taken him out.
Vamos Rafa! You can do it!