Andy Murray back in action at Rotterdam 500, plays Mahut first

Andy Murray back in action at Rotterdam 500

Andy Murray is straight back into competitive action after a bitter-sweet run in Melbourne that saw him fall to Novak Djokovic in the final. There were plenty of positives to take from Murray’s performances, with his physical conditioning clearly helping him to play some of his best tennis.

Often in past years Murray has opted to skip the lesser events after the Australian Open in attempt to trim down his busy schedule, sometimes only playing in the David Cup first round before the two Masters Series events in March. However, the Brit is clearly confident in both his body and his game right now and enters the Rotterdam 500 tournament as the top seed.

a semi final clash with Berdych is a mouth watering prospect

A full preview for Rotterdam and set of predictions can be seen here and the 32 man draw can be seen in its’ entirety here. For Murray the benefits of being the top seed following his rise to number 4 in the rankings are already clear, as his pathway to the title is much clearer than many of his draws in 2014 where he was hovering at the lower end of the top 10.

Murray’s Possible Route:

Round 1: Nicholas Mahut

Round 2: Vasek Pospisil / Philipp Kohlschreiber

Quarter Final: Gilles Simon (8)

Semi Final: Thomas Berdych (3) / Roberto Bautista-Agut (7)

Final: Milos Raonic (2) / Stan Wawrinka (4)

The opening round match with Frenchman Nicholas Mahut should be an entertaining affair, with Mahut having the tendency to play the role of crowd pleaser, but also holding some big victories to his name. He even beat Murray at Queens back in 2012 and will not be afraid of pulling off an upset.

Looking beyond the first round, the first real test on paper looks to be a quarter final meeting with eighth seed Gilles Simon, another Frenchman who has struggled against Murray in the past and doesn’t tend to have the weapons to trouble a player as defensively sound as Murray.

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A semi final clash with Thomas Berdych is a mouth watering prospect given the apparent tensions that were simmering under the surface during their Australian Open semi final meeting only a few weeks ago. Berdych was guilty of letting the emotions bubble to the surface at one point, chatting to Murray at a changeover, although both men have since brushed it off.

It will be interesting to see what Andy Murray we see turn out at Rotterdam. After a strong performance in Melbourne, he would be excused for a bit of lull here and you have credit the British number 1 for fulfilling his commitments to the tournament. He has spoken of wanting to return to the consistency in all tournaments that he had in the early parts of his career, shown by his win in Rotterdam in 2009.

I actually think that we will see a focussed Murray who, after his success at the end of 2014 in some of the lesser tournaments, will still have the taste for blood and the hunger to win more titles. 500 ranking points are not to be sniffed at and a win for Murray in Rotterdam would seem him rise to number 3 in the world rankings and secure his number 2 spot in the race.

Prediction: Winner

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