Laver Cup 2022: Andy Murray vs. Alex de Minaur Tennis Pick and Prediction

TennisSection previews the 2022 Laver Cup as Alex De Minaur takes on Andy Murray on Day 1 on Friday, September 23rd 2022.

The night session at the 2022 Laver Cup will be headlined by three of the four members of tennis Big Four. The quartet of Djokovic, Federer, Nadal and Murray have dominated this sport for over a decade and it is only fitting the band gets together one final time to give Federer the perfect sendoff. In Murray’s case he will face a stern test when he takes on Alex De Minaur in singles action on Friday evening. Will the Scot prevail?

Among the most bona fide members of Team World, Alex De Minaur is one of those at the top of the pile. The Aussie is taking part at the Laver Cup for the first time and has major opportunity to land a telling blow in Federer’s plan for a perfect swansong. The 23-year-old Sydney native will be the favorite when he faces Andy Murray in Friday’s night session, and a win will throw this tournament wide open ahead of Federer’s much-anticipated doubles match.

Not many people would have envisaged Andy Murray’s tennis career would last a few more years following his career-threatening hip surgery after the 2019 Australian Open. In fact,at the time, Federer’s career was very much in its twilight, but was still entrenched inside the world’s top 10 and looking fitter and healthier. But forward 2022, the Scotsman is on his second coming and the Swiss has announced his sudden but expected departure from the game. Murray and Federer will be teammates for once at the 2022 Laver Cup and the former British No. 1 will target to get a big win for his team before the Swiss takes to the court in doubles.

Alex De Minaur and Andy Murray have only played once on the ATP Tour. The Australian World No. 22 won that match at the Zhuhai Championships in 2019 in three sets. Watching De Minaur at times gives a reverberation of just how an energetic young Murray played the game over a decade ago. I thought Murray played extremely well at the US Open, handling the conditions with an astute game plan and only narrowly lost to Berrettini in the third round. A clean sweep on day one for Team Europe almost effectively ends the 2022 Laver Cup as a contest, which is why I’m backing De Minaur in this one. That extra yard of pace is going to come in handy. Murray is one of the best indoor hard court players, behind only Djokovic and Federer in the last decade, but is going to struggle to outmaneuver De Minaur in baseline battle.