Gijon Open 2022: Andy Murray vs. Alejandro Davidovich Fokina Tennis Pick and Prediction

TennisSection previews the 2022 Gijon Open as Alejandro Davidovich Fokina takes on Andy Murray in the first round on Tuesday, October 11th, 2022.

Will Alejandro Davidovich Fokina get a major win over former World No. 1 Andy Murray at Gijon Open? Or will the Briton put a late-push for a potential seeding spot at next year’s Australian Open by ending his three-year title drought?

Alejandro Davidovich Fokina’s surprise defeat to Pavel Kotov in Astana fired a signal that his season may be done and dusted. Davidovich Fokina still has plenty to play in the remaining few weeks of the regular ATP season, with an ATP 500 and Masters 1000 titles looming large. But the Spaniard who is currently on the cusp of re-entering the top 30 after a decent first half of the season, is probably having one eye on the off-season. So with his motivation very much questionable, could a home tournament (Gijon Open) bring the best out of him when he takes on Andy Murray?

Andy Murray will be playing his 44th match of the 2022 season. It is the most matches that Murray has played since undergoing hip replacement surgery three years ago, and you wonder whether he might be feeling the ill effects at the Gijon Open. Murray, who is without a title since 2019, does not enter into events to make up the numbers as he said very fondly some time back. He has come close to snap that title drought this year, finishing runner-up in Sydney and more recently at the Stuttgart Open.

Alejandro Davidovich Fokina and Andy Murray have not clashed at any ATP event. Tuesday’s match at the Gijon Open will be their first official meeting. This is tough to call for so many reasons. Davidovich Fokina barely put a shift in at his last tournament, and with Murray you cannot really trust his movement on a consistent basis now. It is a flip of a coin, but we are siding with the flamboyant Spaniard to overwhelm Murray in a baseline battle.