ATP Tournament in Stuttgart, Round of 16, Thursday, 09.06.2022
35 years old and not a bit tired, the second spring of Andy Murray, it continues! In Stuttgart, the veteran wants to make a name for himself again, the quarter-finals at least.
On Thursday, the spectators will be on his side, because how the Scot has fought his way back after many injuries impressed everyone. Read my Murray Bublik tip to find out why I think he can win the next one!
The ATP tournament in Stuttgart is not only a competition with a top line-up, but above all it says one thing: Wimbledon is just around the corner! The world’s elite want to get in shape on the fast grass, so the fans are in for some real thrills.
Not only the German starters are in the spotlight here, when an Andy Murray is on the list of participants, it is always a crowd puller. This year, the 35-year-old is improving bit by bit and has climbed back up to 68th place.
Then came the setback in Madrid: after his victory over Denis Shapovalov, he missed the duel with Novak Djokovic due to food poisoning. The French Open fell through, but Murray much prefers grass anyway.
The Surbiton Trophy a few days ago showed how strong he is on the fast surface. He beat Jurij Rodionov, Gijs Brouwer and Brandon Nakashima straight up, only Denis Kudla inflicted a three-set defeat on him.
On his debut in Stuttgart, Murray was quite confident, taking a 6-4, 6-3 lead against Christopher O’Connell. He only conceded one break and 85% of his first serve was successful.
Bublik won 7-6, 6-3, Murray 7-6, 6-4 a few weeks earlier, but Bublik still has to live with the fact that he is at home in the slight underdog role. The Kazakh failed to qualify in Stuttgart in 2017 and 2019, but is now in the main draw for the first time.
His debut was successful but also showed that the performances are not impeccable. He won 7-6, 7-5 against Denis Kudla. A good comparison, because a few days earlier Murray had narrowly lost to the US American.
The 1.96m tall Bublik served 19 aces, which means Murray will have to dress warmly when it comes to serving. At the beginning of February, the 24-year-old surprisingly won the title at the Open Sud de France against Alexander Zverev.
Afterwards, he slid into a crisis that continues to this day. He has never won two matches again, and if he manages to win in Stuttgart on Thursday, it would be the end of a four-month drought.
My Murray Bublik Tip
Can Andy Murray continue his strong year in 2022? He’s making it tough for the big names again, even able to beat them on good days, as he did against Denis Shapovalov. Alexander Bublik, however, is not quite one of those aforementioned top stars.
Since Murray gives me the more stable impression here, my tip can only be:
Murray wins against Bublik!
