Wimbledon 2013: Men's singles quarter-final preview

Second quarter-final: Fernando Verdasco vs Andy Murray

Andy Murray

Way back in 2009, the then world no. 4 Andy Murray faced Spaniard Fernando Verdasco in the fourth round of the Australian Open. Like a tale with many twists, the Brit lost control of the plot and eventually the match in five-sets. Verdasco went on to reach the semifinals of the Australian Open that year and finally finished that season as a top-10 player.

Ever since then, the Spaniard’s career has veered with lots of ups and downs while the Brit continued his ascension amongst the player ranks, winning a Grand Slam title in the process. The fortunes of both players thus seem vastly different on the eve of their quarter-final match up.

Fernando Verdasco has lost just one set to Belgian Xavier Malisse in his opening round. All his matches thereafter featured straight set victories with the Spaniard controlling the momentum of the matches from the get go.

Murray, on the other hand, is yet to drop a set and has been playing some excellent, champion-esque tennis for the past week-and-a-half. Verdasco however does have the game to challenge Murray and even take the match to the distance. But Murray’s aggressiveness especially when cornered – as seen in the fourth round against Youzhny – has allowed him to rebound even more strongly.

Under Lendl’s coaching, Murray’s inherent tactical acumen also seems to have intensified further, thus distinguishing him far more substantially from the player who faced Verdasco four years ago.

Match Prediction: Andy Murray def. Fernando Verdasco in three sets.