TennisSection previews the 2021 Indian Wells Open as Andy Murray takes on Adrian Mannarino in the Round of 128 on Friday, October 8th, 2021.
Will Andy Murray move on? Will Adrian Mannarino pull off the upset? This will be an interesting one, where we will see if Murray is able to maintain his level to get over this first tricky hurdle. Who will move on to the Round of 64 at the 2021 Indian Wells Open?
Andy Murray is looking better and better as he heads into Indian Wells to take on Adrian Mannarino. He has a great shot at the win, with all of his shots looking better and better the more he plays. His performance in San Diego was definitely promising, pushing eventual champion Casper Ruud before bowing out to him. He’s been getting some tough draws, and to be able to have an opponent who hasn’t been playing great lately is a big relief for him. I also feel as if he is a very good matchup when facing Mannarino, as he is a very strong returner and hits penetrating and deep groundstrokes, with the ability to use them in an aggressive fashion, especially lately as he aims to keep the points short. Let’s see if he can clinch the win and head through here at the 2021 Indian Wells Open.
Adrian Mannarino hasn’t been playing much tennis lately, with his last 3 tournaments being the Sofia Open, and the final 2 grand slams of the year. With little match practice and a bad record against a rising Murray, it will most certainly be a tough task. He will have to serve very well, and somehow modify his shots from the normal, relatively slow pace to be more assertive and aggressive, if he can keep the consistent and quirky playstyle, however, incorporate elements into his game in which he is able to actually hit penetrative shots that make it hard for Murray to play his game, then he could have a chance. However, this is all much easier said than done and it will most certainly be a daunting task to take on the 3-time grand slam champion and move on at the 2021 Indian Wells Open.
Andy Murray and Adrian Mannarino have met twice before, with Andy Murray leading the head to head 2-0. Their two meetings came in 2015, with one of them coming at Indian Wells! Murray won easily in 2 sets, I suspect it will be a similar result in this matchup. Their other match came at the US Open, with Murray needing 5 sets as he came back from 2 sets to love down to take it. This certainly shows that Mannarino has what it takes to push Murray, however, in terms of recent form, Murray has all of it, on top of that the experience and favorable style. Let’s see if he can get through this first one and get the ball rolling for the rest of his stay here at the 2021 Indian Wells Open.
Free Tennis Pick and Prediction: Andy Murray in 2 Sets.
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