Basel Open 2022: Andy Murray vs. Roberto Bautista Agut Tennis Pick and Prediction

TennisSection previews the 2022 Basel Open as Roberto Bautista Agut takes on Andy Murray in the Round of 16 on Thursday, October 27th, 2022.

After his comeback win in the opening round, Andy Murray will face a much more difficult assignment against the sixth seed Roberto Bautista Agut in the Round of 16 at the Basel Open. The Briton will need no reminding of the last time he faced the Spaniard, so could he avenge that humiliating defeat in Doha?

Roberto Bautista Agut eased his way into the second round of the Basel Open by dismissing Laslo Djere in straight sets. The Spaniard was undergoing a mini-crisis of some sort after losing his last three matches when he arrived in Switzerland. And against the Serbian qualifier, it almost felt like another upset was on the cards. But after digging out a tight first set, Bautista Agutwas relentless in returning everything back and his weight of shot proved too much to handle even for the counterpunching Djere. He will be looking to inflict a third defeat in row over Murray in their head-to-head when the pair line up on Thursday.

Andy Murray, meanwhile, scored a fine win over Russia’s Roman Safiullin at the Basel Open. Safiullin has made a habit of being a nuisance against the big boys, often using his powerful ground strokes to disrupt rhythm and blow his opponents away. It appeared that way again in the first set against Murray who was left to ponder at what was going wrong. In vintage Murray style, the Briton produced his best display yet in the second and third sets as he broke the Russian four times to turn the match around.

Andy Murray leads Roberto Bautista Agut 3-2 in their head-to-head. Murray won each of their first three matches, but of late it has been all Agut. The Spaniard won that rollercoaster match at the Australian Open in 2019 and then gave Murray a total shellacking at this year’s Qatar Open dropping just one game.Murray’s upturn in form this second half gives him a realistic chance of springing an upset, but the Spaniard still holds the edge.